Peab Asfalt and LUT University signed a five-year collaboration agreement in January this year. The agreement aims to promote the sustainable development of raw materials, technologies, and processes in asphalt production. The collaboration is referred to as the Asphalt Research Platform (ARP).
“Peab Asfalt believes strongly in a sustainable, ecological future. The company has long pioneered in asphalt recycling and has continuously developed energy-efficient operations in Finland. Our aim is to cut carbon dioxide emissions from asphalt production in half by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy,” outlines Eero Sorri, director of production and machinery at Peab Asfalt.
Peab is able to produce an environmentally friendly asphalt grade called ECO-Asfalt at several of its plants by using carbon-neutral biofuel. The research collaboration with LUT aims to develop even greener asphalt production technologies.
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A platform that merges expertise in various fields
The research platform is a collaboration model that brings LUT’s fields of science together to address the asphalt industry’s challenges from different perspectives.
“Platform-based collaboration enables flexible work that suits each situation. Potential solutions to asphalt industry challenges may look very different depending on whether you approach the problems from a chemical engineering, energy technology, or social sciences perspective,” says Petri Ajo, chief growth officer at LUT University.
What Peab Asfalt hopes to get out of the new collaboration model is innovations related to technology and production processes, and consequently, opportunities for technology export.
“LUT University has established a strong profile as a pioneer in sustainability. We anticipate our research collaboration with LUT to lead to inventions that promote the circular economy and sustainability, enabling us to pioneer in the field also internationally,” states Sorri.
More information
Eero Sorri
Director of production and machinery, Peab Asfalt
eero.sorri@peabasfalt.fi
