Problem: The cement industry accounts for 8% of the global CO2 emissions, the same as cars, or if it were considered as a country, it would have the third largest CO2 emissions after the USA and China. The production of building materials is a tremendously detrimental process for the environment accounting for about 11% of global greenhouse emissions. Even more staggering is the fact that the industry uses up about 40% of global raw materials. Furthermore, 30% of building materials are discarded, and unused generating significant waste that is becoming ever so difficult to handle. Producing cement also uses a large amount of fossil fuels for transportation, operation of ovens and machinery, and other processes, further contributing to climate change. The price of cement has gone through the roof in recent times, as a result of its highly resource-intensive production cycle. From mining limestone to transporting, grinding and incinerating it in a 1450 degree Celsius oven, it is an incredibly energy instensive process. The energy used to produce it is by no means clean, the machinery and vehicles all run on diesel or pertol, the prices of which have exploded in recent times. This development means that cement producers had to constantly raise their prices in reaction to energy prices.  Due to the shrinking nature and high prices of cement, concrete producers have been trying to use less of it, and have supplemented it with additives, which are also very expensive, and alter the structural integrity of the resulting concrete, making it a constant headache for concrete technicians to come up with an optimal mixture for a certain construction project.  Sewage sludge ash is a material that is produced in wastewater treatment facilities after sewage sludge is incinerated, in order to produce biogas, an effective and green source of energy. The resulting ash is almost entirely discarded and landfilled, barring it from further use and disregarding its value.  The problem has not been solved largely due to the conservative attitude of the construction industry and the lobbying might of the biggest cement producers. 
 
Solution: Our solution to the burning problems mentioned above is an innovative, sustainable additive made from chemically stabilized sewage sludge ash that substitutes 20% of cement in concrete. This would be a cost-effective, carbon-negative, sustainable and clean solution for the harm cement is causing worldwide. Concerning process emissions, using our product reduces energy requirements for the whole concrete cycle by an estimated 90%.  The product is offered at 25% of the price of cement, saving producers 15% on cement, while reaping the benefits of the product rendering the finished concrete more voluminous, durable and less prone to cracks. By substituting up to 20% of regular cement mixtures with Sewage sludge ash, we could have a great sustainable impact on the environment, the economy, and public health, reducing the amount of cement used by about 800.000 tonnes a year. We achieve this by using sewage sludge ash, which is a byproduct of an incinerator's combustion of dewatered sewage sludge, is a natural and unlimited material. Around 1.7 million tonnes are produced worldwide, and this number is expected to rise exponentially in the future.
 

USP: Our USP cannot be summed up in a single feature, as our product is unique on many fronts. First of all, we are using sewage sludge ash, a material still largely landfilled around the world, with the aim of becoming the first product to feature it as its main ingredient. One of the unique environmental benefits we offer is the fact that by using our product, the process emissions of the entire concrete production cycle are reduced by an estimated 90%. Last, but not least, our product is different to concurring sustainable products on the market, due to its price, with a potential to be the first commercially available product to make concrete production cheaper than its traditional process.