World Of Concrete Europe 2024: A Forum Devoted To Innovations In The Concrete Industry To Address Decarbonisation Issues

Construction Tech Review | Monday, April 15, 2024

From 24 to 27 April 2024, World Of Concrete Europe will bring together, in association with INTERMAT, the entire concrete sector value chain around an exhibition and a forum. This combination will allow visitors to discover the comprehensive and varied offering of the sector from upstream to down, and a panorama of the latest innovations in the European concrete market. The Forum’s panel discussions will focus on the collective innovation trajectory of the concrete industry to decarbonise materials, processes products, technologies, applications and equipment.

A programme on the theme “Decarbonation underway in the concrete industry”

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24 April 11.00am – 12.00pm: Inaugural talk: The issues of decarbonisation for the concrete industry, presented by Florent Dubois, real estate and sustainable construction director at NEXTY and the author of the book Béton écologique et construction durable (Eco-friendly concrete and sustainable construction).

The concrete industry as a proactive player in a low-carbon society: construction needs in the face of national carbon targets (strategies and roadmaps for the building and public works/development sector, with France on the front line of global warming) and the transition already initiated by the industry.

Main decarbonisation levers and the concrete industry’s solutions: the cement-concrete industry's decarbonisation roadmap. Beyond cement: how can the entire chain be mobilised to achieve carbon neutrality?

 A panorama of innovation and avenues of thought: how concrete and construction systems can be transformed thanks to bio/geosourced materials, 3D printing processes, AI and the industry's successful transition to the new ecological order.

24 April 2.30 – 4.00pm: Round table: Rising to the challenge of the circular economy and recycling, hosted by Etienne Webre, deputy chief executive at EVOLIS and Christine Raynaud, editor-in-chief of Prescription Béton

Speakers

• Charlotte Bernard, director of GRANUDEM Développement

• Mathieu Hiblot, chief executive, ECOMINERO

• Fabio Mastroianni, deputy managing director at AGYRE

• Thomas Pernin, material engineer at CERIB

• Alessio Rimoldi, secretary general of BIBM

25 April 10.00 – 11.30am: Round table: Decarbonising ready-mixed concrete, presented by Colin Rousselet, journalist at AC Presse

Speakers

• Julien Beideler, secretary general of FFB-UMGO

• Yannis Martin, sales director or Stéphanie Bondoux, certification and homologation director, HOFFMANN GREEN

• Patrick Montagné, director of concrete, cement and export business, MAPEI France

• François Redron, chief executive at CIMBéton

• John-Erik Reiersen, CEO, BETONG NORGE

Reducing the carbon footprint of concrete is first and foremost a joint effort. And all the players in this sector are in a position to make their contribution. From cement manufacturers to admixture suppliers, not forgetting suppliers of raw materials and secondary constituents. But what are the different vectors that can be used to decarbonise concrete? What practical steps are cement manufacturers taking? What about alternative components? What is the role of admixtures? Does decarbonation have an influence on the way concrete is used, how it sets, how it increases in strength and how it performs? And how do things work elsewhere?

25 April 2.00 – 3.30pm: Round table: Optimised logistics, a true decarbonisation lever, presented by Pascal Petit-Jean, secretary general at SEIMAT

Speakers

• Thomas Bonvalot, LEICA Géosystem: presentation of guidance equipment on concrete slipform pavers • Ivan Martinsanz, head of PUTZMEISTER France: presentation of the iOntron Hybrid P 730 TE silent piston pump with electric motor, which uses the worksite electricity supply to operate

• A representative of SCHWING STETTER: presentation of hybrid-driven AM 10 EDrive truck mixer

• A representative of the AVRIL Group: presentation of Oleo100, one of the few alternatives to fossil fuels capable of offering a range comparable to that of diesel, on a turnkey basis and without any major changes to fleets.

• Presentation of the Archipel project, aimed at relieving the congestion on the roads surrounding the site of around 4,000 rotations of truck mixers per year by producing ready-mix concrete directly on site and supplying the lowest-carbon concretes on the Strasbourg market.

26 April 10.00 – 11.30am: Round table: Off-site concrete construction, hosted by Frédéric Gluzicki, editorial director at AC Presse.

Speakers

• Céline Beaujolin, chief executive of Filière Hors site France

• Mickaël Carvalho, director, Prega Normandie, subsidiary of GA Smart Building

• Jacques Manzoni, director general at FIB

• Lionel Morenval, CEO and founder of MUANCE

What if off-site construction were the ideal way to industrialise the building sector in France? It appears to offer design quality, lower costs and shorter lead times. But what do we mean today by "off-site construction"? What are the fundamental differences with what has been called "prefabrication" for over a century? What factors could accelerate the use of this construction technology in buildings? Are there any obstacles? Is off-site concrete construction a good response to the decarbonisation of the building sector and the requirements of RE2020? 26 April 2.00 – 3.30pm: Round table: 3D printing to support decarbonisation, hosted by Laure Regnaud, director of the French Concrete Academy (École Française du Béton).

Speakers

• Dominique Corvez , chairman and CEO, XTreeE

• Céline Florence, head of Concrete Engineering academic chair, ESTP

• Olivier Martinage, 3D officer, Lithosys Vicat Sysnergie

• Nicolas Roussel, chairman and research director, RILEM

The advantages of 3D printing in concrete for decarbonisation in construction: current limits and constraints of the innovative process, the state of progress in R&D, training for future players in the construction industry in innovations such as 3D.

The Forum’s steering committee is made up of experts from the main trade associations and bodies of the concrete industry:

Julien Beideler, secretary general, UMGO-FFB

Frédéric Gluzicki, director, Béton[s] Le Magazine

 Jacques Manzoni, director general, FIB

Gwana Marques, Île-de-France Normandie regional delegate, SNBPE

 Iván Martinsanz, head of Putzmeister France

Lionel Monfront, product and market director, CERIB

Pascal Petit-Jean, secretary general, SEIMAT

Laure Regnaud, director of the French Concrete Academy

François Redron, chief executive, CIMbéton

Etienne Webre, deputy chief executive, EVOLIS

World Of Concrete Europe, embedded within the Building Civil engineering and Concrete Sector hub, will bring together 200 exhibitors and 500 Forum attendees.

 Among the firms registered for World Of Concrete Europe, we can mention 3R SCHNELL, AMOG SLR, BETONSTAR-HANSA, BLEND PLANTS, BONNEUX MACHINERY, BOSCH BÉTON FRANCE, CIFA, EUROMECC, EUROMIX MTP, EUROP’EQUIPEMENT, HANSA, IMER FRANCE, KRAFT CURING SYSTEMS, MAPEI, PL2M, PUTZMEISTER, SCHWING[1]STETTER, SELFBETON, SOMERO ENTERPRISES, TEKA FRANCE…

The entire concrete industry will be represented around a comprehensive offering from upstream to downstream: Facilities and machinery for concrete production, Facilities and machinery for pre-cast concrete, Materials for concrete, Equipment and machinery for special and decorative concrete, Equipment, delivery and laying of ready-mixed concrete, New technology, services and engineering for concrete, Concrete industry, other equipment and machinery

The winners of the international 2024 INTERMAT Innovation Awards will be unveiled at a ceremony held at the show on 24 April at 6.30pm. Among the accolades, there will be a Concrete Sector award and a special World of Concrete Europe award to recognise a company offering an innovation specific to the concrete market.

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