• A start-up based in the Landes has developed a cement based on raw clay which makes it possible to manufacture low-carbon concrete.

  • Materr'up was created in 2018 and launched its first production site for concrete elements, in the Landes, using a nearby clay quarry.

  • It carries development projects for small factories near large cities, to meet the demand for traditional alternative materials.

Each year, the building sector emits more than 123 million tonnes of CO2, according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

A figure that places it among the most polluting activities, with transport for example.

To manufacture cement, which is involved in the composition of concrete, it must for example be heated to 1,400°C for thirteen hours, a very energy-intensive process.

Mathieu Neuville, one of the founders of the Landes start-up Matter'up was interested in raw clay, available in abundance, to develop an alternative product.

A former research engineer in R&D at Laffarge then Total, Mathieu Neuville worked for four years with associations, artisans and design offices.

"We combine this clay with an activator and a precursor, this mixture allows a cold reaction, without cooking, and to bring the desired mechanical properties", he explains, without revealing any secrets of manufacture of the formula, protected by 35 international patents.

This clay-based cement, extracted from local quarries or recovered from excavation sites, is then recovered without cooking and thus constitutes a low-carbon solution.

A pilot production site launched in February 2022

Created at the end of 2018 and quickly supported by major partners such as the Region, the Department or the Ministry of Ecological Transition, it raised funds of more than one million euros in 2020. From 2021, it launched its first pilot plant, in Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, in the Landes.

The company, which employs 17 people, began producing cement and concrete based on raw clay in February 2022. , mega blocks to make retaining walls for embankments, dykes, etc., explains Julie Neuville, partner and in charge of communication and marketing at Materr'up.

We also offer benches to put in public spaces.

»

The objective is to show that these products can be used immediately, by displaying a desire to work with cement and concrete workers to help those who wish to make a transition.

A marketplace has also been created for direct sales, to craftsmen but also to individuals.

"We want to democratize low-carbon materials and facilitate their marketing", explains Mathieu Neuville.

New factories in the works

The mechanical and energy performance of this clay-based concrete are the same as conventional concrete and its price is currently "equivalent to premium concrete tinted in the mass", points out Julie Neuville.

The massification of production will automatically lead to a reduction in costs which will be partly passed on to the final price.

“There was a real need to provide a solution that was certified [by the scientific and technical building center CSTB] and economical, believes Mathieu Neuville.

And builders and architects wanted to build differently.

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Materr'up's development plan, which has about ten recruitments in progress, is to set up small factories near large cities to supply them with "green" concrete, in particular to limit carbon emissions linked to transport.

Projects are planned in the Paris, Toulouse and Bordeaux regions, some of which could come out of the ground as early as 2023. The icing on the cake: the concrete concocted with local clay will take on different colors depending on the nature of the soil, rather pink in Toulouse and yellow in Bordeaux.

This should bring a little color, next to the uniform gray of traditional concrete.

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