Saxon State Minister Wolfram Günther talks to KARL MAYER Technische Textilien and Hitexbau about the push of textile concrete, 07.04.2022 in Chemnitz
Politics builds on sustainable solutions
On 7 April 2022, KARL MAYER Technische Textilen GmbH will be welcoming distinguished visitors and at the same time campaigning for greater sustainability. Saxony's Minister of State for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture, Wolfram Günther, will be travelling to the textile machinery manufacturer in Chemnitz to find out about alternative solutions for the construction industry. KARL MAYER's machines are used to produce high-performance textiles with great ecological potential for this booming sector. If, for example, steel reinforcements in concrete construction are replaced by textile reinforcements made of carbon fibres, the consumption of concrete can be reduced considerably, because the high covering for corrosion protection is no longer required. This reduces the use of raw materials, CO2 emissions and construction waste. For prefabricated elements, a reduction of up to 80 % in concrete is possible. A halving of the consumption of energy and important resources results solely from the at least twice as long service life of building elements made of textile concrete, according to the experience of Hitexbau. As a specialist for textile concrete reinforcements, the company is part of the round of talks with the Minister of State in Saxony. Hitexbau knows the advantages of carbon textile, but is also aware of the obstacles to the introduction of this innovative solution in practice. Blockers include long standardisation processes and outdated tendering and award regulations.
In a joint exchange between politics and industry, barriers should fall. "We hope to pave the way for textile concrete in public construction projects. This could have a considerable leverage effect on the private construction sector and benefit us all through the positive ecological effects," said Jochen Schmidt, managing director of KARL MAYER Technische Textilien. The first steps have already been taken to achieve this. The Free State of Saxony has recognised the potential of carbon concrete in reducing resource consumption and CO2 emissions, and has included this innovative building material in its energy and climate programme adopted in 2021.
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