Who? Natalie Eßig, professor of the Department of Architecture at Munich University and founder of ESSIGPLAN GmbH in Bamberg.

shares insights: “The German building sector accounts for 60% of waste generation, 40% of energy consumption and 50% of resource consumption. Urgent change is needed in the construction industry to combat climate change. Assessment tools for sustainable construction provide a starting point for bringing about this transition. These tools can be used to verify and assess the sustainability of buildings. The QNG German government eco-label for sustainable building and the sustainability funding initiative of the KfW Bank are also important."

Who? Peter Stemmermann, mineralogist, and head of Department of Technical Mineralogy at Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

shares insights: "I will speak about the "Recycling of waste autoclaved aerated concrete as raw material for the production of RC-belite cement clinker". In essence, the aim is to reduce waste quantities and landfill costs, while at the same time replacing part of the cement required for AAC production. Furthermore, I would like to show how new decentralised technologies like the one presented can advance the circular economy in the construction sector.”

Who? Chadwick Chen, Managing Director of Anhui KEDA SUREMAKER (AAC PLANT SOLUTION) Industrial Co.,Ltd., China and vice-president of China Aerated Concrete Association

shares insights: "My topic will talk about the development trend of sustainable green buildings in China, the decarbonising tools for the whole life cycle of construction projects etc. As for the China autoclaved aerated concrete industry, I will also talk about the decarbonising technology evaluation framework in China for AAC production technology."
 

Who? Dr. Alexander Roeder, managing director of the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V.

shares insights: “My topic will be Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). EPDs provide consistent and verified information on the ecological footprint of products. Apart from a short introduction to the topic. I will also cover the likely role of EPDs in the future Construction Products Regulation (CPR).”

Who? Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Thomas Lützkendorf, professor at the Centre of Real Estate at Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

shares insights: ”In my talk I will show how requirements for the properties of construction products and the contents of construction product information can be derived from the requirements for construction works and their contribution to sustainable development. I will look at the draft European Construction Products Regulation and the current state of standardization. Suitable product information that includes the results of a life cycle assessment will become an important consideration for competition.”

Who? Dr. Volker Thome, Head of Department Inorganic Materials and Recycling, Institute for Building Physics (IBP) at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

shares insights: “A patented technology for the de-sulphation of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC), which enables new and innovative recycling possibilities for AAC. We will also see, that a high quality AAC can be manufactured by using sorted waste concrete and lime sandstone as secondary raw materials. This means that mineral resources can be saved, and material loops can be closed. Interestingly, the choice of suitable or other raw materials can even lead to a significant energy reduction for AAC production.”

Who? Hans-Dieter Hegner studied at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia, Bulgaria

shares insights: “It is a hybrid building: outside, a vast Baroque facade, one of the most significant of its kind north of the Alps – all faithfully reconstructed – and inside, a modern museum showcasing non-European cultures from around the world. But it is not just its form and function that is unique. It is also a sustainable building with a highly advanced energy concept.”

Who? Dr. Wolfgang Eden, Head of Department Research at the Forschungsvereinigung Kalk-Sand e.V.

shares insights: “The German calcium silicate unit industry’s route to achieving climate neutrality by 2045, technological pathways and implementation and the role of calcium silicate unit recycling.”

Who? Oliver Kreft, head of international projects and responsible for circularity at Xella Technologie- und Forschungsgesellschaft mbH

shares insights: "My aim is to demonstrate that consistent and comprehensive circularity of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) can effectively help to protect primary resources and to cut down CO2-intensive raw materials like cement and lime. I will describe and put up for discussion findings from fundamental research and their implementation into production routines."

Who? Julius Schäufele, Concular GmbH

shares insights: "I will be talking about approaches to and requirements and solutions for a circular economy in the construction sector – and why digitalisation is such a key factor for sustainable transformation."

Who? Stephen Richardson, World Green Building Council

shares insights: "I'll be speaking about the critical role that sustainable finance and the EU Taxonomy can play in supporting decarbonisation of the building and construction sector and how Green Building Councils and partners of our network have been leading this crucial work."

Who? Dr. Hartmut Walther, Xella Technologie und Forschungsgesellschaft mbH

shares insights: "Rebound effects in building materials reduce the CO2 content of the atmosphere. I will talk about the CO2 uptake of autoclaved aerated concrete and of calcium silicate units. These recarbonation processes are not yet fully described and the new method of “forced carbonation” has been developed to obtain correct values."

Who? Robert Turski, president of the EAACA

shares insights: "The European producers of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) are one of the first players among the building materials manufacturers with clear vision and commitment (The roadmap) to decarbonize the construction industry. During the Colloquium I would like to present you the roadmap for AAC products to net zero emission and even beyond. Our roadmap sets out a pathway for AAC products to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 with the potential to become carbon negative, thereby absorbing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than emitting."

Who? Henning Ellermann, Deutsche Unternehmensinitiative Energieeffizienz (DENEFF)

shares insights: "Sustainability and resource efficiency are becoming increasingly important. From our point of view, three things in particular are central to this, and I would be happy to elaborate on them and also make reference to calcium-silicate bricks.
1. The different phases of the building life cycle must not be played off against each other. Grey energy is not an argument against energy efficiency in operation and vice versa.
2. Regulation solely related to buildings does not go far enough on this issue. The building materials and components industry must be supported in parallel in decarbonising their manufacturing processes. Otherwise, in the worst-case scenario, products that are actually urgently needed will be unintentionally thrown out of the market before the manufacturers have a chance to decarbonise their processes and develop recycling methods, etc.
3. A step-by-step approach is a good idea, as we have learned from the energy efficiency sector over many years: first regulate funding and transparency in a technology-neutral way, improve the data basis and let the market find solutions and scale them up, then follow with regulation when processes have been learned and can be implemented in a lean and cost-effective way."