Cements that illuminate providing more security at night; cements that lower the soil temperature thus cooling the city, besides repairing themselves to ensure the durability of buildings and public works; cements that are self-cleaning and reduce the noise between different floors; smart cements that control the conditions of the roads in case of rain and ice, which are transparent when illuminated; cements that turn into tissues.
These are just few examples of Smart Materials, namely the cements of the future designed for the smart cities, which Italcementi presented in Paris at the Symposium “The Future of Cement”, organized by Unesco in the French capital from June 6 to 8.
In September 2015, the company had already boasted, among other things, the significant launch of i.active BIODYNAMIC, an innovative cement mortar with photocatalytic properties, capable of capturing pollutants in contact with solar rays, which was used to build Palazzo Italia during the Expo.
«Today cement offers innovative performance that can help for the enhancement of the quality of life in our cities. A surface area of 1,000 sq. made with photocatalytic products based on the active ingredient TX Active patented by Italcementi is equivalent to eliminating the pollution caused by 30 petrol-powered vehicles or 10 diesel-powered vehicles. In the same way, the light drainage concrete floor can also lower surface temperature by 30 °C compared to an asphalt pavement - Enrico Borgarello claimed, Product Innovation Manager of the HeidelbergCement Group and supervisor at the Paris Symposium – In i.lab Italcementi, namely the product innovation center at the Kilometro Rosso in Bergamo, we are studying and experimenting new solutions and applications with cement and concrete that can be used by designers to respond to market demands that are increasingly based on sustainability and quality of life».
