The University of East London (UEL) and Strabag UK are collaborating to develop and commercialise a low-carbon grout that could reduce the environmental impact of tunnelling projects.
The 26-month project will replace traditional cement-heavy annulus grout with a sustainable alternative made from repurposed construction waste and biowaste from the sugar industry. The new product is expected to cut embodied carbon by more than 61% compared with conventional formulations.
The formulation partially replaces cement, superplasticisers and retarders with excavated tunnelling material, filter cake from water treatment processes and agricultural by-products.
The project is backed by a £216,000 Innovate UK-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).
The project is supervised by UEL’s Dr Arya Assadi Langroudi, associate professor in geotechnical engineering.
A dedicated KTP associate will work within Strabag UK to translate laboratory research into practical, industry-ready solutions.
James Keegan, Strabag UK’s director of environment, sustainability and innovation, said the project strengthened the company’s innovation portfolio and its ambition to be climate neutral by 2024.
“We all recognise the challenge of enhancing circularity, resource efficiency and the sustainability of materials used in construction. This partnership enables cross-industry collaboration to trial and evidence a scalable, lower-carbon alternative to conventional grout that maintains the technical performance needed for complex underground works,” he said.
