Giatec is working to reduce cement usage on construction jobsites via an artificial intelligence (AI) programme, which has received funding from the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).
TheSDTChelps Canadian entrepreneurs accelerate the development and deployment of clean technology solutions.
Giatecsays cement is the most expensive ingredient in a concrete mix and its production is also responsible for 8% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
In a construction project, ready-mix concrete producers design concrete mixes to meet specific performance criteria to reach strength targets quickly.
However, the firm points out the performance of concrete can be affected by various external factors, including the quality variations in raw materials, ambient conditions, delivery time, pouring processes and jobsite curing conditions.
According to Giatec, concrete producers currently have limited data and visibility into these factors, thus lacking accurate testing and monitoring capabilities.
This leads to overdesigning concrete mixture by adding more cement than necessary to prevent potential performance issues, the company adds.
Combining Giatec’s proprietary sensing technology with its AI-based model Roxi is expected to allow ready-mix producers to adjust the amount of cement needed and meet concrete strength targets more accurately.
As a result, Giatec insists this will cut at least 400 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, the equivalent of taking 110 million cars off the road.
Giatec co-founder Pouria Ghods says: “Based on two case studies, we estimate that up to 20% reduction in cement usage can be achieved using our technology. With this funding, Giatec will provide a solution that will bring not only economic but also environmental benefits by reducing CO2 emission, air pollution, and water use in the construction industry.”
The Roxi AI programme was built for Giatec’s SmartRock wireless concrete sensors. SmartRock has been used in more than 8,000 construction projects across 80 countries, giving Roxi access to millions of data points.
