Amazon has just reserved an annual supply of low-carbon cement, according to Data Center Dynamics.
Manufacturer Brimstone recently conducted testing of its Ordinary Portland Cement in collaboration with Amazon. Amazon has signed a commercial agreement with Brimstone to supply upcoming construction based on the results. The companies plan to continue testing the OPC over the next two years.
Most concrete manufacturing relies on limestone, which generates significant amounts of carbon dioxide when it's processed. A large part of this pollution is inherent in the chemical reaction, which uses a lot of energy. Brimstone substituted calcium silicate rock in an effort to reduce those emissions while maintaining the final performance levels of the concrete.
In a similar vein, others have introduced silicates to concrete production by way of rice husk ash, volcanic ash, and fly ash.
According to Our World in Data, concrete manufacturing is responsible for about 4% of global emissions. Cutting those emissions down at scale is a high priority.
Smart processing upgrades like Brimstone's can help, and SDU reported that concrete naturally absorbs around 30% of carbon emitted during its production once it's set.
Cutting atmospheric pollution of all kinds is vital to curbing destructive weather patterns like floods and droughts. The housing, agricultural, and ecological costs of these disasters have continued to climb.
In this regard, Amazon's progress on low-carbon cement is commendable, but its track record on sustainability overall remains mixed. For example, its data center energy demands lean heavily on dirty sources while it has simultaneously been electrifying its delivery fleet. Amazon expects to expand its use of greener concrete and reduce the environmental footprint of its buildings.
"These initial results are encouraging and demonstrate the potential for Brimstone's innovative materials to scale across our buildings portfolio and reduce the carbon footprint of concrete," said Asad Jafry, Director of Global Energy, Sustainability & Automation at Amazon, to Business Wire.
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