The concrete was placed using the slipform method and cured with Emcoril Traffic
Reference

Conversion of a military airport in northern Germany

For the conversion of a military airport in northern Germany, the client and the construction company relied on CO₂-saving concrete mix designs and MC-Bauchemie's expertise in concrete technology.

Innovative concrete mix designs reduce CO₂ footprint

Northern Germany

For the conversion of a military airport in northern Germany, the client and the construction company relied on CO₂-saving concrete mix designs and MC-Bauchemie's expertise in concrete technology. This made it possible to reduce the environmental impact and at the same time fulfil the high strength requirements for the concrete.

  • Name

    Innovative concrete mix designs reduce CO₂ footprint

  • Country

    Northern Germany

  • Categories

    Admixtures & Additives

The military airport in question is being converted into a state-of-the-art site in several phases. The construction includes the refurbishment and expansion of the flight operation areas, in particular the taxiways, access roads and the central runway. This major project, which began in autumn 2022, is due to be completed by 2030, with the main flight operation areas scheduled for completion by the end of 2024.

High concrete requirements and extreme weather conditions

Concrete production and installation at the air- port in northern Germany presented special challenges. In addition to extreme weather conditions, which often delayed the construction work, strict requirements had to be met by the concrete itself: Despite its low water content and the desired air void stability, it also had to be suitable for placement using a slipform mould. Due to the fluctuating temperatures between 10 and 38 °C during the construction period, the concrete mix design had to be adapted to the respective weather conditions to ensure smooth installation. For the taxiways and access roads, it was essential that the concrete could withstand not only frost and de-icing salt, but also aggressive de-icing agents which are frequently used in airport operations. To with- stand the extreme loads caused by aircraft and to achieve a higher strength class than conventional road concretes, a concrete of class C35/45 with a consistency of C1-C2 and a maximum grain size of 22 mm was specified.

The concrete was placed using the slipform method and cured with Emcoril Traffic.

The concrete was placed using the slipform method and cured with Emcoril Traffic.
© MC-Bauchemie 2025

View of the completed runway of the military airfield

View of the completed runway of the military airfield
© MC-Bauchemie 2025

Sustainable concrete mix designs with MC admixtures

To meet the ecological and technical requirements, the client opted for innovative and environmentally friendly concrete solutions. Products specifically tailored to the project were used. For example, three special clinker-reduced cement types were applied to minimise the CO₂ footprint by up to 44% compared to conventional Portland cements. In addition, the high-performance superplasticiser MC-PowerFlow 5100 and the air-entraining agent Centrament 202 were used to optimise the placing of the concrete. These products improved the workability of the concrete and ensured an even distribution of air voids, which further increased the resistance to frost and de-icing salt. Due to heavy rainfall during the construction phase, additional curing treatments had to be applied. Emcoril Traffic was used to protect the fresh concrete from evaporation and to optimise the hydration process in the top layer of the concrete.

A model for future infrastructure projects

The construction of the military airport in northern Germany is a showcase project for the successful use of CO₂-reduced concrete mix designs and environmentally friendly construction methods. The innovative solutions accelerated construction progress and met the high demands for load-bearing capacity and durability – an important step to- wards sustainable infrastructure development. The main parts of the airport will be completed by the end of 2024, allowing flights to resume as planned at the beginning of 2025.

References
Magazine
MC-Pedia
Contact
News
Cookie settings

We are continuously improving our website and we use cookies for this purpose. For an optimal user experience, we recommend that you accept them. Otherwise, parts of the page will be deactivated in the display in accordance with data protection regulations.

Essential

Essential cookies for the website to work properly.

Always active
Analytics

We collect data in order to analyze user behavior on the site. This data will be evaluated to provide a better user experience and make you find what you need faster and easier.

Marketing

We analyze marketing data, for example if you found our site through a marketing campaign. We provide information about success or abandoned carts to better understand if you are interested in a certain product or not.

Comfort

Services that make using our site easier but that are not technically necessary. This includes Google Maps for easy location information, YouTube for embedded videos but also the use of contact forms, which are protected from Spam Using Google ReCaptcha.