Holcim realizes a new concrete structure
His new Bridge to the Future is a lighthouse project for Holcim Switzerland: In close cooperation with CPC AG and the ZHAW, one of the most climate-friendly buildings in the world was built at the Holcim factory in Hüntwangen ZH.
Holcim built the cantilever bridge called Bridge to the Future at its Hüntwangen plant. The company describes the filigree concrete platform for the acceptance of excavated material in a press release as “one of the most climate-friendly structures in the world”. This bridge was created in close cooperation with CPC AG from Andelfingen and the fiber composite materials ( FRP ) specialist group at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ( ZHAW ).
For this bridge, the concrete slab technology from CPC was used and further optimized. The company, founded in 2013, produces particularly filigree, stable and durable concrete slabs and components that are reinforced with pre-stressed carbon fibers (carbon prestressed concrete, CPC) instead of corrosive steel. This can save up to 75 percent of material and thus also CO2. This technology was developed and patented in a research collaboration between the ZHAW and the Silidur company from 2010. As stated in the press release, Holcim has since acquired a stake in CPC AG “as proof of its trust in CPC technology”.
According to the information, Holcim used its clinker-free cement Locarbo for the Bridge to the Future. Compared to conventional cement, this has 63 percent fewer CO2 emissions. From this, Holcim has developed a high-strength recycled concrete. Its carbon footprint has been reduced from 210 to 138 kilograms of CO2 per cubic meter.
FVK supported Holcim with feasibility and load-bearing tests as well as statics calculations. “This project is a highlight for us,” says FVK manager Josef Kurath. The individual material properties are “reflected in a unique way and optimally used”.