Pioneering start-up FIDEtechnology, dedicated to decarbonising the construction industry, proudly announced the sale, installation, and successful operation of its first Prototype at the Construction Materials Laboratory at Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

FIDEtechnology has invented, engineered and patented a new design concept, the FIDE Low Carbon (LC) Grinding Mill, which promises to disrupt the EUR50bn global industrial grinding mill market and lead to significant decarbonisation in the construction sector. One industrial FIDE LC Mill offsets the equivalent of CO2 generated from 155,000 cars each year, the annual number of all new car registrations in Portugal.

With the recent granting of the key patents, plus this successful implementation of the Prototype, FIDEtechnology is planning its scaling up for a first Industrial pilot LC Mill at a European cement/concrete production plant. Partial funding of EUR2.4m is being sought from the European Innovation Council under the Horizon Europe Accelerator Challenge program “New European Bauhaus and Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector digitalisation for decarbonisation”.

The patented Prototype LC Grinding Mill stands out for its disruptive 300 per cent energy efficiency improvement and environmental friendliness. By optimising the grinding process, the LC Mill opens the door to produce cost-effective Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs), the agreed key to rapid and low-cost “green cements”.

"We are extremely excited about the outcomes achieved through the utilisation of FIDEtechnology's patented disruptive design," says Professor Karen Scrivener, Professor at EPFL and UN Climate Advisor and the driving force behind the development of the LC Mill at EPFL’s LMC. Professor Scrivener's keen interest in pushing forward sustainable practices in the construction industry has been met with resounding success of the low-carbon limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) that is already being commercialised by major cement companies. The LC Mill showcases an innovative and cost-effective approach to producing superfine SCMs while reducing carbon emissions. The ultra-fine grinding that the FIDEtechnology LC Mill can render translates into increased reactivity of materials, which means that the amount of high carbon-emitting clinker in cement can be significantly reduced and replaced with greener materials.

Moving forward, FIDEtechnology plans to meet the growing demand for its disruptive grinding mill technology by expanding its sales and operations globally and engaging with other prominent research institutes, industry leaders, and manufacturers in order to achieve widespread adoption.