Omya new NEST partner of Empa
Innovative building materials for NEST's Beyond.Zero unit
Omya and NEST, the research and innovation platform of Empa and Eawag, have entered into a new partnership in August 2025. Together with additional partners, they will begin planning and constructing the new NEST unit Beyond.Zero. The goal is to develop and test CO₂-reduced and CO₂-negative materials and technologies across the entire life cycle of buildings.
At the core of this new partnership is the further development of a cement-reduced concrete that Empa and Omya developed in a joint research project. This innovative building material replaces up to 70 percent of the clinker content with natural minerals, significantly reducing the CO₂ footprint. "For a novel type of concrete to achieve broad acceptance, it must be tested in practice. With its use in the NEST unit Beyond.Zero, we can comprehensively validate our cement-reduced concrete — from processing to durability," explains Mateusz Wyrzykowski, Empa researcher. The goal is a building material that not only meets ecological requirements but also delivers in terms of workability, mechanical performance, dimensional stability, and durability.
"Omya is a globally leading Swiss producer of industrial minerals and supplies a wide range of industries — from construction to pharmaceuticals. Collaborating to develop sustainable building materials and testing them directly under real-life conditions at NEST accelerates the transfer of innovation into climate-friendly construction," emphasizes Empa Director Tanja Zimmermann.
Further information about the new NEST unit: Beyond.Zero
