29/05/2026
Support for EDT Industrial Cadets programme continues.
We are proud to be in our third year of supporting the Engineering Development Trust’s (EDT) Industrial Cadets initiative. This year, we are supporting students at Queen Mary’s High School, Walsall in exploring opportunities in reducing carbon emissions in civil engineering by assessing the viability of a low‑carbon aggregate, ReCO₂, as an alternative to conventional MOT Type 1 material.
Based on the remit set by our mentors Danny Taberner (Temporary Works Design Engineer), Ian Hodgkiss (Engineering Manager), Owen Mills (Engineering Director) and Tim Withington (Engineering Manager), the students undertook a structured programme of research, comparing the composition, environmental impact and engineering performance of both materials. ReCO₂ is produced using accelerated carbonation technology, which captures carbon dioxide during manufacture, resulting in a material with a negative carbon footprint. In addition, its lower density can cover approximately 15–20% more area than Type 1, offering potential reductions in material use, transport requirements and associated emissions.
As part of the Industrial Cadets programme, the student team had a great opportunity to put the theory to the test, undertaking practical testing using laboratories at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU). They successfully completed plate bearing and angle of friction tests to assess load-bearing capacity and shear resistance, determining that the material did as they expected. Site testing is now a realistic progression given the success of the lab tests.
The lab test results showed strong alignment between theoretical and practical findings, indicating that the ReCO₂ did perform comparably to traditional Type 1 aggregate in lab-based conditions. As it demonstrates similar engineering properties to the primarily quarried type 1 material, we were interested to see if this would indeed offer an alternative product for crane pads, piling mats, temporary access roads or foundations where type 1 has been specified. Importantly, the students’ findings identified that comparable performance is achieved alongside clear environmental and logistical benefits.
Overall, the students’ findings demonstrate that ReCO₂ is a viable, sustainable alternative for use in our site construction applications, with the potential to significantly reduce carbon impact and without compromising performance. We believe there is an additional factor in the compaction time which using ReCO₂ appears to reduce (possibly due to the fact it is manufactured and doesn’t have the same linear structure), potentially making it faster to install as well as requiring less overall material given the differing angle of friction that helps with load distribution.
We wish the students the best of luck for the presentation of their findings to the panel of assessors on 5th June.