Lafarge Africa Plc and Innovate UK have started working together to promote an open innovation challenge via the Global Alliance Africa initiative.
The collaboration seeks to support Lafarge Africa in identifying innovative circular economy projects that make use of Construction Demolition Materials (CDM) to address issues related to material waste and climate change. By doing this, Lafarge Africa highlights how committed it is to significantly advancing the decarbonisation of the building sector.
The three main goals of the effort are to secure urban cementitious CDM supplies, develop digital methods to discover these sources, and improve local technology for processing and recycling these materials, BrandSpur national brand news reports.
“We are a building solutions company committed to sustainability, innovation, and operational excellence. We are reducing carbon emissions by fostering innovative ideas and technologies to facilitate sustainable transformation within the construction industry,” states, Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, Group Managing Director of Lafarge Africa.
Alade-Akinyemi added: “To make a positive impact on the construction sector, we are seeking creative circular ideas for utilising CDM to address material waste and climate change challenges to contribute to decarbonisation.”
He claims that instead of importing raw materials, Lafarge Africa and Global Alliance Africa are actively conducting research and development to increase the reactiveness and value of recycled materials.
The purpose of Global Alliance Africa’s Open Innovation intervention, according to Open Innovation Lead Babar Javed, is to assist big businesses in coming up with creative solutions for technological issues that their conventional supply chains are unable to handle.
“Using our bespoke platform, we match real industry problems with innovative companies or academic institutions, who can provide novel, market-ready solutions. We are delighted to be working with Lafarge Africa to find innovative solutions for the recycling of CDM.”
According to Javed, the pilot initiative will begin in Lagos and eventually expand to other states. After making a pitch to Lafarge Africa, the innovation challenge winner will be asked to work with them on a pilot project.
