Business Models: Engineering and Innovation Unit

Energy Globe World Award for “C³–Carbon Concrete Composite“ project

News | Leipzig /

The consortium C³–Carbon Concrete Composite has won the environmental Energy Globe Award in the Earth category for developing carbon concrete, an innovative building material which can protect resources, improve the longevity of buildings, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. More than 160 partners are involved in the research project, including Fraunhofer IMW.

© Stefan Minar
© Stefan Gröschel

The Leipzig team, led by Dr. Nizar Abdelkafi (head of the Business Models: Engineering and Innovation Unit) and project manager Josephine Schöffel (a research fellow in the same unit) are currently investigating applications for heatable carbon concrete construction elements for the consortium. A partner network of scientific institutions and companies is working on making carbon concrete effective as a building material for panel heating and energy storage in the future. The aim is to develop a suitable product for heatable carbon concrete construction elements by the end of the project in 2020 and to generate new business model approaches for the project partners.

Since its foundation in 2014, Fraunhofer IMW has supported the C³-Association in the areas of business model development and market research. At the beginning of the joint project, the scientists in the Business Models: Engineering and Innovation Unit were involved as partners in two basic research projects. The team identified market potential, possible constraints such as standardization and other regulations, and drivers for carbon concrete as a building material. The flexible design of the material, its invulnerability to corrosion, and the possibility of saving resources are features that are in high demand in the construction industry. The researchers paid particular attention to developing the value chain for this innovative building material.