First cement-free concrete sewer systems: Next.Beton installed in Hesse, German

In the German Federal State of Hesse, a cement-free concrete sewer system is installed for the first time in Germany - Next.Beton. The innovation sets entirely new standards in sustainability and CO₂ footprint. Awarded the Climate Innovation Prize of Lower Saxony, this sustainable sewer system was just recently referred to as “Super innovation for climate protection” by the Lower Saxony Minister of the Environment, Christian Meyer. After Next.Beton had received the general building approval last year, the first sewer construction project with the new concrete pipes is currently being realized in Hesse.

While the topics of sustainability and climate protection are already highly relevant issues in building construction, they still receive little attention in underground construction and sewer systems. This underground infrastructure in Germany – with a length of about 594,000 kilometers and a replacement value of approx. 746 billion euros – makes a crucial contribution to the sustainability of municipalities in the country. The key here is the use of climate-friendly and durable wastewater systems. Next.Beton is highly convincing here not only with massive savings in CO₂ but also with maximum acid resistance.

Next.Beton is the material for sustainable and future-viable sewer infrastructure

The manufacture of Next.Beton pipes involves the substitution of cement by a mineral binder produced from industrial by-products. This process preserves primary raw materials and saves up to 70 % of CO₂ emissions in raw materials production. In addition to the use of secondary raw materials, the complete recyclability of the pipes contributes to a sustainable circular economy. This cement-free formulation represents a milestone in climate-friendly infrastructure and, at the same time, produces pipes that are extremely resistant to chemical attack. This is possible since the material contains no lime that could dissolve when coming into contact with acids. Accordingly, Next.Beton can replace CO₂-intensive synthetic pipes also in the sewage area.

German-wide collaboration with three strong middle-sized companies

Just as innovative as the concrete formulation is the collaboration of the three manufacturers behind Next.Beton: Berding Beton GmbH, the Röser Group and the Finger-Beton Group. The strategic collaboration of these three leading concrete specialists enabled not only the award of  the approval, but also immediate nationwide availability of this sewer system. Distribution of the production sites throughout Germany ensures short distances in the procurement of raw materials as well as short delivery routes of the products – and therefore very low CO₂ emissions for the entire transport. This also applies to Fronhausen, the first deployment location of Next.Beton, where the transport distance from the Finger-Beton production site to the construction site is only 3.5 kilometers. “For our underground infrastructure in Fronhausen, an innovative and climate-friendly product is being installed, produced directly on our doorstep by a company in our region. Greater sustainability is not possible,” says Mayor Claudia Schnabel proudly.

First installation of the cement-free concrete sewer system in Germany, in the federal state of Hesse

In the course of developing the new residential estate in Fronhausen/ Lahn, in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, comprehensive sewer construction works are currently being carried out in the existing local network with the objective of developing the infrastructure to be future-viable. This is intended to satisfy prerequisites for newer and more advanced residential areas. Here, the focus is on the sustainability of construction measures. Sebastian Muth, Technical Manager and Deputy Managing Director of the special purpose association Zweckverband Mittelhessische Abwasserwerke (ZMA) declares: “The decision to use the Next.Beton sewer system here for the first time was made jointly by all participants in the project. A decisive argument was environmental friendliness, especially the reduction of the CO₂ footprint. For this project alone, up to 42 tons of CO₂ were saved by using Next.Beton. With this accomplishment, we as an association intend to be a model for many additional communities and network operators in Germany. We are sending a strong signal here to the sector, to the effect that innovative and climate-friendly solutions in civil engineering are not only possible, but are technically and economically efficient – without quality loss.”