Photo: Carbon Crusher
Sustainable transportation is mainly about the types of vehicles that circulate and what powers them, but it’s also about the roads. Making and maintaining roads also releases a lot of CO2 into the air, but the solution is not to stop making new roads. Instead, this Norwegian startup uses recycling and sustainable materials to make existing roads better and future carbon-neutral ones.
Carbon Crusher was founded by Haakon Brunell and Kristoffer Roil in 2021, who were later joined by Hans Arne Flato. Together, they developed the equipment and technology for sustainable roads. The Carbon Crusher machine can crush asphalt and rocks finely.
Instead of bringing new, costly materials, this machine grinds up the top layer of the existing road that needs repairs, recycling it. Then, instead of the conventional bitumen (a form of crude oil), it uses lignin, a natural component of plants, to glue the crushed top layer.
Because the trees that are the lignin source absorbed CO2 throughout their lifetime, the end result of this road repair process is considered to be carbon-neutral. The lignin-based binder is said to be more flexible than bitumen, which makes roads last longer, without the potential cracking due to cold temperatures.
Also, although it needs up to six weeks to settle, the repaired street can be used from the first day. Lignin can also be used on gravel roads.
According to the startup, this entire process is not only better for the environment but also cheaper, faster, and with more durable results. The company is offering its carbon crushing service to both public and private road owners or contractors.
According to the Fast Company, the team intends to make this equipment even more sustainable in the future by exploring autonomous driving technology and hydrogen fuel. Plus, it’s already working on a software that can immediately track any part of the road that needs repairs via satellite.
Instead of bringing new, costly materials, this machine grinds up the top layer of the existing road that needs repairs, recycling it. Then, instead of the conventional bitumen (a form of crude oil), it uses lignin, a natural component of plants, to glue the crushed top layer.
Because the trees that are the lignin source absorbed CO2 throughout their lifetime, the end result of this road repair process is considered to be carbon-neutral. The lignin-based binder is said to be more flexible than bitumen, which makes roads last longer, without the potential cracking due to cold temperatures.
Also, although it needs up to six weeks to settle, the repaired street can be used from the first day. Lignin can also be used on gravel roads.
According to the startup, this entire process is not only better for the environment but also cheaper, faster, and with more durable results. The company is offering its carbon crushing service to both public and private road owners or contractors.
According to the Fast Company, the team intends to make this equipment even more sustainable in the future by exploring autonomous driving technology and hydrogen fuel. Plus, it’s already working on a software that can immediately track any part of the road that needs repairs via satellite.
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