The Norwegian Minister for Climate and Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, visited yesterday the research and development laboratories at Mapei's Sagstua plant in the municipality of Nord-Odal in Norway, where a new concrete research centre is under construction. The project, which started at the end of 2024, will be completed in autumn 2025 and will be an important step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cement, concrete and mortars.
The project received funding of NOK 26.4 million from Innovation Norway, the Norwegian government body responsible for innovation and sustainable business development in the country. The building will be an extension of the current R&D department of Mapei's Norwegian subsidiary and will be a key part of the development of sustainable solutions for the construction industry of the future.
Three innovative projects that Mapei Norway is working on with the aim of reducing the impacts produced by the construction industry were presented to the minister, namely: the production of low-carbon cement, the production of low-carbon concrete, and increasing its reuse/recycling in the concrete industry.
The Minister of Climate and Environment praises Mapei's efforts to reduce climate emissions and was enthusiastic about Mapei's contribution.
“The efforts being made here at Mapei in this field are fantastic – said Andreas Bjelland Eriksen – . I don't think many Norwegians realise the significance the results can have globally when research from here is successful. Emissions from the construction industry are one of the causes of the climate challenges the world is facing”.
Mapei has been present in Norway since 1999, when the Rescon company, founded in 1976 in Nord-Odal, became part of the Group. Today the company, with sales and production facilities at Sagstua in Nord-Odal municipality, has a turnover of more than NOK 1.4 billion. Mapei Norway's products are developed to withstand the challenges of the Arctic climate, and the Norwegian research and development center is an important resource for the development of sustainable concrete technologies and innovative solutions for the construction industry.
