CLASS PROJECT
CLASS PROJECT
Project Objectives
o Critically assess the options to reduce CO₂ emissions in cement and concrete.
o Evaluate how concrete construction will evolve in the next 40 years if these efforts on
reducing carbon intensity get implemented.
o Reflect on how these changes will impact your work
o and whether you foresee could be the changes in your environment and during your
working lifetime.
The outcome of this work will capture our class views on the potential for reducing CO2
intensity in cement and concrete
CLASS PROJECT - DELIVERABLE
The deliverable will have 5 parts
o A multi dimensional mapping tool illustrating the landscape of options to reduce CO₂ emissions in cement and concrete.
o Supporting documentation for each technology following the prompt given in the next page
o A section on the project group’s opinion on how concrete products will evolve based on the landscape map developed.
o Individual section – A brief reflection outlining how or if you envision these changes impacting your work over the course of your
professional life (next 40 years).
o Group presentation to the instructor and guests on your findings.
o The presentation canNOT be with power point
The visual landscape map should show multiple dimensions, such as:
• CO₂ reduction potential
• Replacement potential
• Assessment of tentative adoption timeline
• Technology readiness level
The outcome of this work will capture our class views on the potential for reducing CO 2 intensity in cement and concrete
Each technology or Innovation Option needs to have a template following the
prompts/dimensions below:
Dimension Description
Technology Name Name of Technology or Application
How It Works Include a brief explanation on how the technology works
Include links or citations that reference source/primary
Best Resources/References
papers/technologies (not just review papers/articles)
Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Scale of 1–9 (1 = concept, 9 = full deployment)
Expectation on when these technologies will be adopted in modern
Adoption Timeline
plants/economies (0–5 years / 10–20 years / later)
CO₂ Reduction Potential % reduction or qualitative estimate
Replacement Potential Niche use or mainstream cement replacement
Challenges to Adoption Cost, scalability, regulation, lack of infrastructure, education, etc.
Are raw materials and water (if needed for the process) available in
Availability of raw materials or water necessary quantities to support a massive adoption of this new
technology?
Discuss the impact of this technology in current construction
Impact on current concrete practices
practices
GROUP WORK – How we will work??
This is a Class work / Group Work – All of you will be part of the project group
- You need to select 1 or 2 project managers -
- You need a project plan and need to assign roles for your team
- You will need to divide the work between all members of the group to ensure that everyone contributes.
- You need to divide the work
- Please note the bird view and snail view – both are needed, but we often need a colleague to either
bring our bird view down or get us out of the hole.
- The goal of the project is that all of us learn – some colleagues will be far ahead and some will be
behind – the goal is that we all get to the deadline – this means that we help each other
- Everyone is expected to put a minimum of 2 hours of meaningful/focused work per week on this project.
If not, you will have an opportunity to rate your classmates at the end of the project.
- During each class, you will work on the project for 30 minutes and will give me a 5 or 10 minute update
on how the project is progressing.
GROUP WORK – Where to get information from?
You need to discuss this as a group in an open and frank way.
o It will not help if you relay on ChatGPT or similar to get this information.
o What is a good source?
o What do we do when we get stuck and are getting into a rabbit hole?
o Where to find good primary sources of information in each topic?
o When to ask the instructor for help?
o When to ask for a guest speaker to talk to us about a technology we cannot find
information about?
o TIP – Start with Scrivener paper in Cement and Concrete Research Journal - Cement and
Concrete Research 114 (2018) 2–26 – It is in Canvas
GROUP WORK – Others
• During next class, you need to have a list of main technologies that will be included.
You will be able to add or remove technologies to this list.
• It may be a good idea to try to develop the mapping tool earlier in the project and
adjust it as you learn more.
• Key decision to make:
- Do we also include in this landscape the US reality?
• As part of this project, we can try to invite guest speakers to answer some of your
questions. Let’s discuss more