Neustark commissions its fortieth CO₂ capture and storage site

• The Swiss climate tech pioneer neustark is commissioning a second CO₂ storage site together with alluvia, a regional provider of building materials and disposal services in the Bern region.
• Alluvia is the first existing customer to turn to the neustark solution for the second time.
• The site in Mattstetten near Bern permanently stores approx. 600 tonnes of biogenic CO₂ per year in demolition concrete, thus creating significant negative emissions.
• Neustark now runs 40 CO₂ capture and storage sites in Europe.

Following the successful commissioning of a CO₂ storage site in Biberist (Solothurn Canton, Switzerland) in the summer of 2023, the young carbon removal company neustark and alluvia, a supply and disposal specialist in the regional construction industry, are continuing their cooperation.

The new site in Mattstetten near Bern will permanently store up to 600 tonnes of CO₂ in demolition concrete. The CO₂ is captured locally at a biogas plant in the Bern region and thus removed from the atmosphere. After this, it is permanently stored in concrete granules at the site in Mattstetten, as a result of which negative emissions are generated.

The transportation routes between the CO₂ source, the storage site and the final product are extremely short: The CO₂ is captured and permanently stored in demolition concrete from demolished buildings from the region over a distance of just 14 kilometers. The demolition concrete enriched with CO₂ is then used by alluvia to manufacture its own recycled concrete.

«Thanks to the location of the storage site, we can close the circle between demolition, CO₂ storage and delivery of our products even more tightly. In this way, we satisfy the key awarding criteria of the City of Bern for sustainable construction projects,» states Gerd Aufdenblatten, CEO of alluvia. «At alluvia, sustainability and the circular economy are our foundation. In the field of net zero, we are installing photovoltaic installations at our locations, our vehicle fleet is being continuously updated to EVs and our enhanced cooperation with neustark underlines our philosophy that the circular economy is an indispensable key to success. We supply the industry with sustainable and high-quality building materials – project developers now have to use them consistently.» Johannes Tiefenthaler, co-founder and co-CEO of neustark adds: «With this solution, we can not only build in a way that is much more compatible with the circular economy, but also make the biggest waste stream in the world into an effective CO₂ sink.»

The CO₂ storage site is permanently integrated in the recycling facility in Mattstetten. The heart of the site, the reaction chamber, has been redesigned: It comprises a box, which can be closed using a tarpaulin to bind the CO₂ in the material in a controlled and efficient manner. During the intensive test phase in July, the site stored an impressive 45 tonnes of CO₂.

«This site is the result of a working partnership. We started our success story at the project in Biberist. We are there delighted that in alluvia we have a partner that is turning to our solution once again,» Johannes Tiefenthaler points out.

With the new site in Mattstetten, neustark now operates a total of 40 CO₂ capture and storage sites in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, France, the UK and Germany. More than twenty further projects are currently at the planning or construction stage.