New standard paves the way for Alkali-activated cements in the construction industry

Lucideon, the international materials technology company, has been developing and applying their proprietary MIDAR technology based on alkali-activated cements for several years. Though technically authenticated to meet the requirements for many applications, the lack of acceptance by building standards has proved to be a major hurdle when planning a route to the European market. BSI has recently published a new standard, ‘Construction Materials – Alkali-Activated Cementitious Material and Concrete – Specification’, which will remove this obstacle.

The new standard defines raw material and product performance specifications; this gives manufacturers of construction materials the opportunity to develop products based on alkali-activated cement technologies, safe in the knowledge that they comply with a European standard of approval. The standard refers to, and benchmarks against a number of well used cement standards, thus ensuring consumer confidence in the new technology.

Rebecca Law, Development Scientist, Lucideon, said “This new standard is an exciting opportunity for not only the construction sector but many other industries who can explore alternative raw materials in their products without fear of market rejection.”

“With the help of our materials experts, manufacturers can develop products using alkali-activated cement technology. This could potentially improve the performance and reduce the raw material costs and carbon footprints of products. At Lucideon, we not only have the experience to develop a new formulation to meet client application requirements, but also the backing of our state-of-the-art laboratories to ensure that new products meet the EU standard.”

Lucideon develops materials technologies to meet the needs of a wide range of industries, including construction, healthcare and nuclear. MIDAR technology has the potential to be used in a variety of application areas, such as flooring, roof tiles and cladding. The MIDAR production process is not energy intensive and utilizes readily available, cost effective materials which make it a promising prospect for the construction sector.

For more information about Lucideon’s MIDAR technology, contact Kambiz Kalantari, Operations Manager, Materials, on +44 (0)1782 764343 or kambiz.kalantari@lucideon.com. Alternatively, visit www.lucideon.com/midar-products.