Ultra-High Performance Concrete and High Performance Building Materials for Sustainable Construction

Book excerpt: Sustainable construction, with the overarching goal of reducing the environmental footprint of everything we build is becoming increasingly important and urgent in the light of the climate change the world is facing. The use of innovative and sustainable building materials, especially concrete as the worldwide most commonly used building material, offers a great opportunity to significantly reduce climate-relevant emissions in the construction sector. Due to their performance and reliable durability, the use of innovative high-performance concretes will help to reduce the need for new constructions and to sustainably repair existing infrastructure. In new buildings in particular, the use of high-performance materials can help to save energy and natural resources, which reduces climate-relevant emissions and thus global warming. With the current HiPerMat 6, we are responding to the growing understanding of the impact of our construction activities on the environment by placing greater emphasis on sustainability issues.