Launch of the “C-Factory”: The world’s first carbon concrete plant is being built in Leipzig
The “C-Factory” marks the launch of a forward-looking industrial policy initiative in Saxony aimed at climate-friendly construction. The goal is to build the world’s first carbon concrete plant for the fully automated production of CO₂-storing carbon concrete components for building construction.
The collaborative project is receiving approximately 14 million euros in funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) as part of the Federal Funding Program for Industry and Climate Protection (BIK) and will run until the end of 2029.
The project is initiated and coordinated by Kahnt & Tietze GmbH in Leipzig. Together with partners from industry and academia, an interdisciplinary consortium is being formed that includes, among others, Betonwerk Oschatz GmbH, SCHWENK Zement GmbH & Co. KG, Prilhofer Consulting GmbH & Co. KG, ABS Storkow GmbH, the Research and Transfer Center Leipzig e. V. of the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK), and the Dresden University of Technology (TUD).
- From Research to Industrial Application
The construction, erection, modernization, and operation of residential and non-residential buildings account for 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany.
Carbon concrete enables significantly slimmer, lighter, and more durable components than traditional reinforced concrete construction. Since carbon does not corrode and the concrete cover can therefore be significantly reduced, the required quantities of cement, gravel, and sand decrease considerably. In total, this already allows for savings of up to 80 percent in resources today. In combination with CO₂-mineralized aggregates and additional CO₂-storing materials, components produced at the C-Factory will even become carbon sinks in the future.
Carbon concrete construction has been intensively researched over the past two decades and successfully tested in initial construction projects — including the Carbon Concrete CUBE in Dresden, the world’s first building made of carbon concrete. The automated manufacturing processes used there were developed and tested at the Carbon Concrete Technology Center Germany at the Research and Transfer Center of HTWK Leipzig. With the C-Factory, the decisive step now follows: the transition of this technology to industrial, scalable production.
- C-Factory – Prototype, Fully Automated Production Line
With the construction of the C-Factory, the development of the first prototypical, fully automated production line for large-format carbon concrete components is being realized, as well as the first-ever integration of CO₂-storing building materials.
Over the next four years, the pilot plant in Leipzig will be built, commissioned, and used to manufacture various demonstration components. It will serve as a reference for future carbon concrete plants and as the foundation for the industrial scaling of a climate-friendly construction method. The components and production processes developed at the C-Factory can be transferred to different locations.