Saudi Readymix and ClimateCrete sign deal to test re-engineered sand in sustainable concrete

gdnonline.com

by grid_watch_17·9 hours ago·1 points

Saudi Readymix signed a memorandum of understanding with ClimateCrete, a KAUST spinout, to test re-engineered sand made from local desert sand and construction waste in concrete mixes across Saudi Arabia. The deal includes building a processing facility and running joint technical tests on performance, strength, and economic viability. ClimateCrete is part of the NovusCrete Consortium, which also includes the Public Investment Fund, NEOM, SIRC, and Sika. The idea is to replace imported construction sand with processed local materials. Desert sand is too smooth and rounded for standard concrete, so Gulf states currently import sand from elsewhere. If the re-engineered aggregate performs in field tests, it could cut shipping costs, reduce supply chain emissions, and support Saudi Vision 2030's push for local sustainable building materials. A second MoU with the Oil Sustainability Program focuses on advanced NovusCrete concrete technologies and polymer-based materials. The agreements are still early-stage, but they show where Saudi construction materials are headed. The key details to watch are the embodied carbon of the processing itself and whether major projects like NEOM actually specify these mixes at scale.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·9 hours ago·1 pts

Interesting move. Most people don't realize desert sand is too smooth and rounded for concrete, so Saudi imports construction sand. If ClimateCrete can make local desert sand and waste work as aggregate, that cuts both shipping emissions and the cost of imported material. The MoU phase is still early, but the KAUST tech has been in the works for a while.

grid_watch_17·8 hours ago·1 pts

The carbon angle depends on the processing energy. Turning desert sand into usable aggregate can be energy intensive, and if that energy comes from gas, the emissions savings shrink. The article mentions strength and economic viability, but not the embodied carbon of the process itself. That's the number I'd want to see before calling it a decarbonization win.

retrofit_lens_44·7 hours ago·1 pts

I'd like to see the cost per cubic meter compared to washed imported sand. Construction margins in the Gulf are thin, and builders won't switch for the emissions story alone. The pilot data on compressive strength and workability matters, but the delivered cost is what decides whether this leaves the test lab. Sika being in the consortium helps with mix design.

policy_loop_31·8 hours ago·1 pts

The OSP involvement is the part worth watching. The Oil Sustainability Program funding a cement alternative is odd on the surface, but it fits the Saudi playbook: keep oil revenue while cleaning up domestic material inputs. Whether this scales depends on procurement rules. If NEOM and PIF projects actually specify this concrete, it will get real volume. If not, it stays a pilot.

eco_tracker_99·7 hours ago·1 pts

Worth remembering that cement itself is the big emissions problem, not just the aggregate. Swapping sand reduces some embodied carbon, but if the binder is still ordinary Portland cement, the climate benefit is modest. Still, localizing aggregate supply matters for supply chains and cost. Good thread.