Screening Eagle partners with the SUM4Re Project to enable reuse of concrete, reduce waste, and promote circular construction

Screening Eagle Technologies is proud to participate in the SUM4Re project - a groundbreaking initiative to create materials banks from digital urban mining. The project emphasizes the use of advanced technologies to promote material reuse in the construction sector.

The SUM4Re project, funded by the European Commission, aims to reduce waste and make future construction more sustainable, by creating banks of reusable materials from old structures that would otherwise end up in landfill.

In 2020 alone, the total amount of construction and demolition waste in EU countries was 330 million tonnes (1). If more of this waste was recycled instead of landfilled, it could reduce the intensive demand for raw materials in new constructions. Raw materials are limited resources and account for over 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, so the reuse of materials is essential for sustainability.

Pedro Arias Sánchez, Professor at the UVigo School of Mining and Energy Engineering, commented, “In terms of CO2 savings, the reuse of concrete waste is by far the greatest savings potential.” This is where Screening Eagle can contribute to promoting circular construction practices with their technologies to assess the integrity of concrete, before, during, or after reuse, and provide reliable data for C-BIM (Circular Building Information Modelling).

The SUM4Re project will include pilot demonstration projects at three different construction sites. Screening Eagle’s non-destructive testing technologies will be used at each site to assess the construction material and deliver insights about structural integrity and type of materials. For example, a building block, bridge, tunnel, or road can be scanned using ground penetrating radar (GPR), ultrasonics, and Eddy-current, with all findings exported as BIM-compatible information.

With these types of structural health data as part of a BIM environment, the Whole-life Carbon (WLC) performance of construction projects can be improved. Structural health data is also crucial for re-evaluating structures after earthquakes or accidents, enabling informed decision-making, and ultimately preventing structural failure by identifying issues early.

SUM4Re aims to achieve nine objectives in total, including developing a blockchain-based traceability system for building materials that could also act like a “material passport”. This would allow stakeholders to track the material over time, making it easier to test and reuse in the future.

Screening Eagle Technologies remains committed to driving innovation and sustainability in the construction industry. Through our participation in the SUM4Re project, our solutions can contribute to a more circular and resilient future. We look forward to continuing our efforts to develop and implement advanced technologies that address the pressing challenges of today, and the decades ahead.

References

1. Pedro Arias Sánchez, Professor at the Uvigo School of Mining and Energy Engineering and researcher at Cintecx, 2024, https://sum4re.eu/about/the-project/ 

This project is funded by the European Union under the Grant Agreement n°101129961. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.