Geomechanics.io

Sripath has launched ButaPhalt, a new polymer additive for polymer modified bitumen (PMB) blends designed to address long‑standing bonding and durability issues in road surfacings. The formulation is engineered to increase crosslinking connectivity within the binder matrix, improving cohesion between bitumen, polymer and aggregate while also boosting plant production efficiency. For pavement designers and asphalt producers, this signals potential for longer‑life wearing courses, better resistance to rutting and cracking, and fewer processing constraints when specifying high‑performance PMB mixes.

Scottish Water has signed an advance market commitment to procure almost 20,000m³ of low carbon concrete over five years, equivalent to about 30% of its current annual concrete use. The Innovate UK and Carbon Limiting Technologies-led scheme, funded by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, aims to aggregate up to 500,000m³ of demand to de-risk commercialisation of novel low carbon mixes. With Scottish Water investing over £1bn a year in infrastructure, the commitment signals material changes to mix design specifications and supply-chain carbon baselines on upcoming projects.

K-Briq, a masonry unit made from nearly 100% recycled construction and demolition waste, is now sold direct to consumers via B&Q’s diy.com online marketplace. Developed by Heriot-Watt University spin-out Kenoteq, the brick has already been specified by architects for commercial projects and award-winning festival installations, and is now being adopted for domestic renovations and garden walls. Wider retail availability signals growing client pressure for low‑carbon, circular materials in small‑scale builds as well as large commercial schemes.

Firebird Metals has reported manganese-iron phosphate (MFP) battery material results that exceed current Chinese industry purity standards, strengthening its case for high-spec cathode precursor supply. The high-purity MFP is targeted at lithium-ion battery applications, positioning Firebird’s planned production as a potential alternative to conventional manganese sulphate routes. For process engineers and metallurgists, the data point to viable upstream integration of manganese ore into value-added MFP with tighter impurity control than typical Chinese benchmark products.

Heidelberg Materials UK has awarded Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Worley an EPCM contract to deliver a carbon capture facility at the Padeswood cement works in north Wales, following completion of FEED and a final investment decision with the UK government in September. Using MHI’s Advanced KM CDR Process, the plant is designed to capture about 800,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year from the existing kiln line, with commissioning targeted for 2029. The project will enable industrial-scale production of evoZero carbon captured near-zero cement, directly affecting embodied carbon specifications for UK infrastructure and building projects.

Timber imports into the UK reached 7.01m m³ in January–September 2025, 2.1% below 2024, with Q3 volumes only 0.2% down year-on-year as contractors restocked after strong Q2 construction activity. Softwood volumes fell nearly 3% but values rose 9% on a 12% price increase, while imported MDF slumped 25%, offset by gains in hardwood, particleboard, OSB, hardwood and softwood plywood, and engineered wood, including Finnish LVL up about 14% and still 83% of the UK market. Supply shifted away from Sweden, Germany and Ireland towards Latvia and Finland, and NSD forecasts softwood imports down 3% in 2025 before a 3.7% rebound in 2026.

Heidelberg Materials UK is trialling CarbonCure technology in ready-mixed concrete at its Greenwich plant in London, injecting pure manufactured CO₂ into fresh concrete where it mineralises permanently and allows around 5% less cement to be used. The process is claimed to cut concrete-associated emissions by 7–11 kg CO₂/m³ with no loss of performance, while potentially increasing strength through more efficient hydration. The Thameside plant also supplies calcined clay, evoBuild low carbon GGBS, crushed concrete, accelerators and evoZero near‑zero cement, positioning it as a low‑carbon materials hub.

Latrobe Magnesium has produced its first sustainable magnesium oxide at a demonstration plant in Hazelwood North, Victoria, using proprietary technology to extract magnesium from Latrobe Valley brown coal fly ash. The process targets commercial production of both magnesium metal and supplementary cementitious material (SCM)-grade by-products, aiming to replace imported magnesia and reduce cement clinker content. For geotechnical and concrete practitioners, locally sourced MgO and SCM from waste ash could alter binder specifications, shrinkage control strategies, and durability mix designs in eastern Australia.

German materials firm FibreCoat has developed zinc-coated fibres for use in reinforced concrete, claiming cathodic corrosion protection for embedded steel in highly alkaline environments where aluminium rapidly degrades. Dispersed within concrete mixes for marine and coastal structures, the zinc fibres could, subject to testing, extend asset service life by 20–30 years at a fraction of the cost of titanium fibre reinforcement. Chief executive Robert Brüll positions the heavier, less reflective zinc coating as a structural, durability-focused alternative for multi-storey car parks, docks, ports and bridges.

Use of calcined clay concrete on the London Museum project, led by Sir Robert McAlpine with close input from engineers, contractors and materials suppliers, is enabling on-site deployment of a lower-clinker, lower-carbon mix rather than limiting it to precast elements. The team is adapting mix design and placing methods in real time on a live heritage-site build, addressing workability, setting time and strength-gain behaviour under typical UK site conditions. For practitioners, this signals growing confidence in calcined clay binders for mainstream structural applications where conventional CEM I would previously have been specified.

Versarien plc, developer of the Cementene graphene admixture, has filed a notice of intention to appoint Leonard Curtis as administrators, triggering a two-week protection period and suspension of AIM share trading while creditors consider options. Cementene was shown by Banagher Precast Concrete in 2023 to enable a 20% reduction in ordinary Portland cement in a standard precast mix, and Versarien had a collaboration agreement with Balfour Beatty to develop new concrete materials. The company has also supplied graphene technology to HS2 trials with the Skanska Costain Strabag JV and participates in National Highways’ Roads Research Alliance and the Digital Roads of the Future project.

SAMI Bitumen Technologies’ parent company COLAS is rolling out its ‘One COLAS Bitumen’ (OCB) framework to standardise bitumen binders, emulsions and polymer-modified products across its global network of terminals and laboratories. Shared specifications, mix designs and performance testing protocols allow Australian road projects to draw directly on European and North American experience with low-temperature binders, warm-mix additives and high-recycled asphalt content. For pavement designers and asset owners, this means more consistent binder behaviour across climates, faster validation of new formulations and clearer pathways to lower‑carbon surfacings.

Building products manufacturer Marshalls has parted company with chief executive Matt Pullen with immediate effect, less than two years after his January 2024 appointment, following half-year results showing operating profit down 37% and pre-tax profit down 46% despite a 4% revenue increase. Chief commercial officer Simon Bourne becomes interim CEO while the board begins an external search for a permanent replacement. Chair Vanda Murray signalled a push to “refocus” and accelerate the Transform & Grow strategy, indicating likely scrutiny of product mix, margins and capital allocation on future schemes.

Holcim UK has acquired PJ Thory and its subsidiaries Gemmix and Pro Minimix, adding nine sites with sand and gravel and limestone quarries, readymix concrete plants and a secondary aggregate recycling centre across the East Midlands and east of England. The deal follows Heidelberg Materials’ purchase of Mick George, with the Competition & Markets Authority having previously forced quarry and readymix disposals that helped make Gemmix the UK’s largest independently owned readymix supplier. Holcim gains additional mineral reserves, expanded readymix coverage and stronger recycled aggregate capacity in a region of intense competition.

VEGA is promoting non-contact, maintenance-free level monitoring for crushed limestone and cement handling, using radar-based sensors across quarrying, crushing, mixing and stockpiling operations. The systems are designed to cope with dust, build-up and variable bulk densities typical of silos, hoppers and stockpiles, avoiding mechanical floats or ultrasonic units that require frequent cleaning and recalibration. For road and infrastructure plants, this enables tighter control of feed rates and inventory in high-throughput cement and aggregate circuits, with fewer shutdowns for sensor access.