Grindzero, our surplus concrete recycling service, participated in the Low-Carbon Infrastructure Challenge organised by the KIRA Growth Programme for the Finnish real estate and construction industry.

The challenge aimed to identify new, scalable solutions for reducing emissions, advancing the circular economy and accelerating digitalisation in infrastructure construction.

The two-stage competition enabled the most promising participants to further develop their solutions in collaboration with the challenge organisers. The following companies presented their solutions at the Demo Day: Boost Brothers, Grindzero, Destia, Infrakit, Pictue, Protieto, Ramboll & Arkance & Oris, Sitowise ja Triona.

The jury particularly praised Grindzero for its innovative approach and its ability to address a widely recognised industry challenge with precision and significantly greater efficiency than existing solutions.

Grindzero received an Honourable Mention in the Low-Carbon Infrastructure Challenge.

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Challenge Organisers

The challenge owners were Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd (Kaupunkiliikenne Oy), the City of Lahti and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. The programme was organised by KIRA Forum, with Motiva providing expert support. Each challenge owner sought new solutions to specific practical needs identified in the competition. The challenge also supported preparations for an innovation partnership procurement initiated by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.

The Agency has a strong commitment to promoting low-carbon infrastructure construction and developing innovative operating models for managing and reducing emissions effectively and sustainably throughout the infrastructure lifecycle.

The innovation challenge particularly sought solutions in the following areas:

• Project management: Collecting information to support low-carbon and lifecycle sustainability objectives and monitoring progress towards these goals.
• Emissions monitoring: Tracking actual construction-phase emissions and verifying emission reductions.
• Material assessment: Evaluating alternative construction materials.
• Lifecycle sustainability: Developing solutions for sustainable construction and maintenance.

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency aims to continue market dialogue and initiate an innovation partnership procurement to further develop solutions that meet its specific needs.

According to Pekka Petäjäniemi, Director of Procurement at the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, the competition has successfully stimulated market activity. Jury Chair Tarmo Savolainen emphasised that all the solutions presented at the Demo Day addressed important needs and introduced new perspectives.

The participating companies were also encouraged to collaborate, as the market needs more comprehensive solutions.

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Working Together Towards Carbon-Neutral Construction

The support provided by KIRA Forum and the KIRA Growth Programme created a strong platform for innovations that can help the construction industry move towards carbon neutrality. Throughout the programme, companies were encouraged to collaborate with challenge owners and other participants.

Meeting the industry's needs requires a broad range of expertise. The following solutions received awards in the KIRA Challenge:

Sitowise Monitoring the beneficial reuse of excavated materials to advance the circular economy.
Protieto Smart construction sites and real-time information management.
Infrakit Data-driven low-carbon infrastructure.

Congratulations to the winners! All these solutions make an excellent contribution to the objectives of the challenge.
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What we learned?

One particularly important insight for Grindzero was that our service will provide real-time information on surplus concrete volumes across all of a customer's construction sites. This information can be used in emissions calculations and real-time monitoring of construction-site emissions. Currently, surplus concrete generation is not systematically recorded, even though its indirect environmental impact is significant. The challenge reinforced the value of combining concrete recycling with digital monitoring and reporting.

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Further information:

Miro Harjumäki
‍+358 44 326 9117
miro.harjumaki@grindzero.fi

‍https://www.bpgroup.fi