Jill Farrell and Robert Green holding test blocks

A company producing lower carbon cement products has secured a £500,000 award from Zero Waste Scotland’s circular economy investment fund.

The project is being developed by Innovative Ash Solutions, a 50/50 joint venture between resource management firm Levenseat, and Organic Innovative Solutions.

The funding award will support the development of an industrial scale facility in Lanarkshire, capable of processing up to 20,000 tonnes of incineration fly, cyclone and boiler ash into a sustainable form of pulverised fuel ash (PFA), a key ingredient used in cement.

IAS secured end-of-waste status from SEPA earlier this year for this innovative PFA replacement product, developed in partnership with the University of Strathclyde Civil & Environmental Engineering Department and Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC). The product was also short-listed as a finalist in the 2021 National Recycling Awards.

Using this new IAS patented process, which diverts waste materials from landfill and avoids the use of virgin sand, creates a product which is cheaper and will reduce the environmental impact of concrete production compared to the use of imported PFA. 

IAS has already secured letters of interest for over 60,000 tonnes of its new product and an additional feedstock contract. The production facility, which will be located on Levenseat’s site in South Lanarkshire, is due to be commissioned by the end of 2022.

When fully functional, the new facility will enable carbon savings of up to 6,104 tonnes of CO2e per year, the equivalent of 2,847 commercial flights or 3,260 cars on the road. 

Over the next five years, IAS intends to build three full scale industrial plants which will produce up to 54,000 tonnes of PFA replacement annually and reduce CO2e emissions by 500,000 tonnes.

The entire project will create an estimated 20 green jobs and also sustain additional construction jobs in the building of the facilities.

Innovative Ash Solutions director Robert Green said the funding from Zero Waste Scotland will enable the scaling of production.

“Our product not only provides a cheaper concrete option, it also means lower emission concrete production by using a safe, accredited end-of-waste solution made from materials diverted from landfill sites.

“This provides a win-win scenario for construction companies which are facing rising costs and additional pressures to lower their carbon footprint.”  

Jill Farrell, director, customer engagement and communications at Zero Waste Scotland, said: “To truly end our contribution to the climate crisis we need to tackle overconsumption and switch from a wasteful linear economy to a circular economy.

“Construction relies heavily on finite resources, which is why we’re committed to helping businesses, such as Innovative Ash Solutions and its partners, in developing bold, ingenious, and sustainable construction solutions that reduce the demand for and waste of virgin materials.”