To create a more precise estimate for the carbon uptake of buildings, the MIT CSHub has developed a bottom-up, context-sensitive approach to estimate the uptake of different cement-based products (CBPs) in a building by estimating the uptake in individual CBPs within that building [3]. This brief describes estimates for single-family homes and the elements they comprise derived using this modeling approach. These results are intended to help in making informed decisions about the capacities of CBPs in buildings to help (confine and) neutralize carbon emissions.

Read the brief.

In this report, a framework is proposed to account for carbon uptake in Product Category Rules (PCRs) for creating EPDs. The proposed method elaborates the multi-level approach adopted to define carbon uptake estimation based on the information available to EPD producers and users. The report highlights the need for a probabilistic framework to account for uncertainties associated with the input data and modeling approach. The report also aims to provide guidelines for producers to incorporate carbon uptake estimates into EPDs based on end-use applications and create a baseline for a science-based and transparent method generalizable to other components of a CBP’s life cycle.

Read the report.

Learn about the MIT CSHub’s research, communications, and implementation impacts across sustainability, infrastructure, resilience, and workforce since Spring 2023 in our newly-released Spring Review.

Click here to read.

Learn how building life cycle assessment can inform scope 1-3 accounting for producers in our latest brief authored by Ipek Bensu Manav and team.

Read the brief.

The MIT Electron-conductive Cement-based Materials Hub (EC^3 Hub), an outgrowth of the MIT CSHub, was established by a research agreement with Aizawa Concrete of Japan. The EC^3 Hub, read as “EC-cube,” will investigate the infrastructure applications of multifunctional concrete — concrete having capacities beyond serving as a structural element, such as functioning as a “battery” for renewable energy.

Read the article in MIT News.

How can the cement industry enable widespread adoption of carbon capture, utilization, and storage? In this research brief, Elizabeth Moore and team investigate a model carbon transport network to serve the cement industry. Pipeline design scenarios were analyzed to investigate the location of “carbon hubs” of nearby industrial facilities that could tap into pipelines at low cost. This would allow for the cement industry to enable carbon capture across a much larger swath of the economy.

Read the brief.

In their new op-ed in The Hill, Randolph Kirchain and Hessam AzariJafari explain why road improvements enhancing pavement stiffness and smoothness are essential to improve the efficiency and environmental performance of all vehicles. The majority of vehicles on the road are projected to be powered by traditional engines up through 2050, making it essential for states and municipalities to use this lever to cut emissions. The authors propose that the Federal Highway Administration should expand their current carbon performance measure to include emissions associated with road performance.

Click to read.

Franz-Josef Ulm sat on a panel with Pete Buttigieg at the Transportation Research Board’s 2024 meeting yesterday. The panel was part of a U.S. Department of Transportation-led workshop titled “New Materials for Infrastructure: Reinventing the Roadway, Runway, and Railway.”

Learn more about the panel.

In this report, Randolph Kirchain, Frank Field, Beth Unger, and Liz Moore summarize the MIT CSHub’s work to date to understand and mitigate the concrete delivery professional (CDP) shortage. Many thanks to the Concrete Advancement Foundation for sponsoring this special project.

Read the report.