KIT Workshop: Eco-Friendly Concrete Construction
Concrete construction is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector. Tunnel structures, which form an essential part of the railway infrastructure, contribute about 9% to the total emissions per track kilometre of Deutsche Bahn and are thus among the most emissions-intensive engineering structures in Germany.
Workshop “Eco-Friendly Concrete Construction for Railway Infrastructure” at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Credit/Quelle: Bung-PEB
Against this background, the research project „Eco-Friendly Concrete Construction,“ funded by the German Center for Rail Traffic Research (DZSF), aims to develop practical recommendations for Deutsche Bahn to reduce the CO2 footprint of railway infrastructure and use resources more efficiently. Particular emphasis is placed on sustainable solutions for tunnel structures.
As part of this project, an interdisciplinary workshop was held on February 25, 2025, at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), where 55 experts from research, planning, construction practice, authorities, and professional associations came together to discuss innovative approaches for a more environmentally and climate-friendly concrete construction method.
The participants worked on central issues of environmentally friendly concrete construction in topic-specific working groups
Credit/Quelle: Bung-PEB
After keynote speeches by Prof. Udo Wiens (DAfStb), Prof. Christoph Müller (VDZ), and Johanna Theilmann (DB InfraGO AG), the research consortium – consisting of BUNG-PEB Tunnelbau-Ingenieure GmbH, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter Kirschke GmbH & Co. KG, the Institute for Structural Engineering and Building Materials Technology (IMB), Chair of Building Materials and Concrete Construction of KIT, and BUNG Ingenieure AG – presented initial project results.
Subsequently, the participants worked on central issues of environmentally friendly concrete construction in three topic-specific working groups:
Working Group I: Concrete technology approaches for eco-friendly concretes and their influence on concrete properties
Working Group II: Possible use of eco-friendly concretes and structural optimization options in railway infrastructure
Working Group III: Recommendations for the implementation of eco-friendly concrete construction in railway projects and transfer possibilities to other modes of transport
The event provided impulses for the further development of eco-friendly concretes and formed the basis for practical recommendations, including their implementation in tunnel structures of all construction methods.
