Press Release

Wienerberger launches first CO2-neutral brick production line

11. February 2022

Innovative solution for the future of the ceramics industry: highly efficient zero-fossil-fuel brick slip production
Wienerberger develops sustainable building material solutions to promote circularity, save resources, and reduce CO2 emissions

Vienna – Within the framework of its Sustainability Program, Wienerberger is pursuing ambitious targets. With its focus on decarbonization, a circular economy, and biodiversity, the company is setting the course for a sustainable and desirable future for generations to come and supporting the European Green Deal. Wienerberger concentrates on the design of ground-breaking, innovative products and systems in order to supply customers with climate-neutral and circularity-oriented building material solutions. The start-up of a new, CO2-neutral production line for brick slips with an electric kiln at the Kortemark site in Belgium marks yet another milestone reached by the Group.

Within the framework of our Sustainability Program, we promote the circular economy and focus on recycling in our production. Thanks to numerous innovations, we also advance the decarbonization of our product portfolio. In 2021, innovative products already accounted for one third of our total revenues. The start-up of the first CO2-neutral production line at our production site in Belgium, which consumes no fossil energy at all, is another important step forward in the consistent implementation of our ESG strategy

Heimo Scheuch

CEO

Daniel Hinterramskogler

Wienerberger’s solutions for the future: climate-neutral and circularity-oriented

New and highly advanced technologies are being used for the CO2-neutral production of brick slips at Kortemark, the objective being to reduce material consumption, introduce closed cycles, shorten transport distances in the building industry, and, at the same time, reduce CO2 emissions. The new, innovative molding technology differs from previously used methods, by which brick slips were produced by sawing bricks, which invariably generated a certain amount of waste. The new molding technology is unique, as it produces soft-mud brick slips of high dimensional accuracy and stability. Geometric variations are avoided, and the brick slips are ideally suited for prefab building construction. In the solution developed by

Wienerberger, both the dryer and the kiln operate entirely on electricity. 25% of the electricity required is generated by an on-site photovoltaic installation, supplemented by 100% renewable electricity. Hence, the use of energy from fossil sources has been reduced to zero.

Wienerberger also redesigned the packaging of brick slips and developed an efficient circular packaging system. As of 2023, Wienerberger’s goal is to ensure that all new products are 100% recyclable or reusable.

You can find an insight into the innovative production of CO2-neutral bricks in Kortemark here: