TECNALIA has won a european prize for its cement setting additive that increases the sector's productivity

TECNALIA won a prize in Europe for its additive capable of reducing the cement setting time by 35%. With this award, EARTO recognises the projection and real impact that the award winning innovation can have on society following its application or implementation.

In our mission to increase the competitiveness and productivity of companies, we developed this technology which can be used in a powerful global sector, as its consumption exceeds 4.65 billion tonnes a year and represents an annual business of 350 billion (14 million tonnes in the national market and 25 billion euros in the European market).

For this reason, we created a new generation and high performance additive for the concrete and mortar market that accelerates the setting time of cement and at the same time, guarantees the quality of the final product. This is due to the fact that the additive acts as a kind of seed accelerating the initial hydration process of cement, or in other words, its setting in early stages, and improving its mechanical performance.

Therefore the setting time is reduced by 35% and the resistance is increased by 400% in the first eight hours. Furthermore, this additive is produced from industrial waste, which fosters circular economy and reduces technology costs. It is the result of the reaction between calcium oxide (lime) and silicon oxide (fly ash) in an aqueous medium. The reaction takes place in a hydrothermal reactor, in which water, pressure and temperature are combined. For example, the reaction may take just 30 minutes at a temperature of 100 ºC to 350 ºC.

In short, we developed a sustainable and affordable technology for the pre-manufacturing, projected mortar or Oil&Gas industry to enhance productivity.

EARTO, European Association of Research and Technology Organisations

Founded in 1999, EARTO, is the European organisation that represents research and technology entities, made up of more than 350 members from 20 countries. Since 2009, it has presented the EARTO Innovation Award each year to reward the best innovations from its members and to highlight its role in a modern and innovation-oriented European economy.

The EARTO Innovation Awards 2019 have been presented to Fraunhofer and CEA today during a ceremony held in Brussels.

Fraunhofer from Germany won the award in the Impact Delivered category for the development of the Multi-Criteria Optimisation (MCO) software. It is intended to support the radiotherapy treatment for cancer, which contributes to improved long-term survival rates, reduced side effects and better quality of life for patients

The French company CEA won the award in the Impact Expected category for the development of a Smart Energy Hub. It is a hybrid energy storage and co-generation system, enabling buildings to use their own clean and local energy supply.