Her light materials: boss of NE ‘green concrete’ company congratulates Earthshot Prize peers

THE scientist leading a young North East team helping to decarbonise the construction industry has congratulated the winners of the highly prestigious Earthshot Prize.

Dr Natasha Boulding is chief executive of Low Carbon Materials (LCM), a company formed to develop the zero-carbon building material made from recycled waste which she and her team developed while studying at Durham University.

Their invention, called OSTO, is a lightweight aggregate (a little like gravel) made from recycled waste, including previously-unrecyclable plastic, which can be mixed into concrete instead of traditional aggregates, making the finished concrete – or concrete blocks – low-carbon.

Last month, LCM were nominated among 15 finalists from around the globe, competing for £5million in funding from the Earthshot Prize, which was founded and is led by Prince William, via the Royal Foundation.

Unfortunately, they didn’t win the ‘Fix Our Climate’ category in which they were one of three finalists – an enormous achievement in itself. But despite the disappointment, Dr Boulding has sent her team’s congratulations to the winners.

“What an amazing achievement and so well deserved by all,” she said. “It’s been truly humbling to have spent time with the other finalists and getting to know everyone. 

“Being announced as an Earthshot Prize finalist has been such an exhilarating experience for everyone at LCM, it has resulted in some truly outstanding developments. 

“In a short space of time, it has thrust our purpose-driven start-up onto a global stage – which has helped us enormously to raise awareness of the environmental issues we seek to address, helping us to educate and inform mass audiences, and illustrate how the built environment can change for the better, through science-led innovations such as ours.”

She added: “We have been overwhelmed by the support, positivity, all-around amazing tributes, and the media attention LCM has received.  

“We’d like to say thank you to HRH Prince William for not only creating a prize that helps to find and grow impactful solutions, but also inspires future generations to repair our planet – this decade. 

“Our thank you also extends to The Earthshot Prize Team, who are incredible and so supportive, and to everyone who has been part of our journey. 

“Lastly, thank you to the ever-expanding LCM team – it’s been a busy but exciting period for us, especially having just moved into a new, much larger facility this week, everyone has really pulled together and risen to the challenge in what is an extremely fast paced environment. 

“Climate change is the greatest challenge we face – we need to move faster to meet vital targets. It’s no longer a case of when it’s going to impact us – it is already impacting us.”