A comprehensive literature review and necessary preliminary evaluations of these technologies that have already been proposed or developed, to assess system integration, scale-up and effectiveness, relevance to local HILT industries, timelines to commercialisation and life-cycle emissions will be performed. High level techno-economic analysis to identify niche technologies and their bottlenecks using the developed models and available data, to identify priorities, justifying further investigation and investment.

Technologies and methods for production of low-carbon construction materials.

The project completed a review of the potential use of industrial wastes and clays in the production of cementitious materials.

The findings inform the project report (currently under review) on commercialisation of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), which identifies gaps and roadmaps for future projects, focusing on calcined clay.

The report details preparation bottlenecks related to pozzolanic properties (the ability of certain materials to react chemically with lime in the presence of water to form cementitious compounds), influenced by impurities and factors related to dihydroxylation (using heat to remove chemically bound water). Varying calcination patterns associated with complex clay compositions also pose challenges.

The project also report examines:

• SCM commercialisation status and potential in Australia.
• Bauxite residue as an SCM, noting limited Australian research.

One key finding is that variability in bauxite residue composition necessitates tailored integration pathways, requiring further study on pre-treatment methods and novel approaches such as reductive roasting to ensure viability.