Calgary International Airport now home to environmentally friendly concrete

The Calgary International Airport just saw a first for environmentally friendly concrete.

YYC paired up with Canadian company CarbonCure to create a new deicing pad with concrete that has been injected with waste carbon dioxide (CO2) captured by industrial gas suppliers, which takes carbon out of the atmosphere and strengthens the product.

The deicing pad project marked the largest quantity of CarbonCure product used at a Canadian airport, and the second largest pour in a single project in the company’s history.

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“2019 was a record year for CarbonCure, as our producer partners’ total production volume and the associated carbon savings nearly doubled from that of 2018,” said Robert Niven, the company’s founder and CEO.

“We are proud that a project based in Canada was such a large contributor to these milestones. This is yet another instance of CarbonCure concrete easily meeting rigorous performance standards, including the top-tier design and engineering standards required for airport paving.”

The new deicing pad trapped an estimated 160 tonnes of carbon in over 25,000 cubic metres of concrete, which the release states is equivalent to the amount of carbon absorbed by a 209-acre forest over the course of a year.

The pad was built in August and September 2019 and began seeing use a few weeks ago.

CarbonCure concrete poured at Calgary International Airport reducing 160 tonnes of carbon emissions. (CNW Group/CarbonCure Technologies)

The company reduced over 55,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2019 after pouring over 3.3 million cubic metres of concrete — which equates to taking 12,000 cars off the road for a year.

“YYC Calgary International Airport is pleased to be a leader as the largest airport user to-date of CarbonCure in Canada,” said Carmelle Hunka, general counsel, vice president, risk and compliance of the Calgary Airport Authority, in the release. 

“As YYC strives to be a leader in airport sustainability, we fully supported our airline partners in the decision to inject captured carbon into the new East Deicing Apron’s concrete pavement.”