Asphalt Industry Outlines Plans to Reach Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050

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Asphalt emissions (Credit: Pixabay)

The asphalt industry in the United States plans to improve technology, especially when it comes to recycling materials, and to use all renewable energy in its operations as it aims to move toward net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) outlined a plan at its recent annual meeting, which also includes working with customers and suppliers to cut Scope 3 emissions as well as developing net zero materials throughout its supply chain. A 21-memember Climate Stewardship Task Force has worked over the past year to study the sustainability in the industry and come up with the roadmap toward net zero.

There are nearly 3,500 asphalt plants in the US, according to NAPA. The organization says most of emissions from its mixing production comes from fuel combustion to heat and dry materials and keep asphalt hot.

NAPA’s 2050 net zero plan includes four goals with 19 tactics and eight research and implementation gaps.

“We as an industry need to take it upon ourselves to be responsible, to make these changes and, where we can, get help,” says NAPA Vice President for Engineering, Research and Technology J. Richard Willis. “But we need to take ownership and start today.”

Its first goal is to achieve net zero in asphalt production and construction by 2050. NAPA says it will address key drivers of emissions and study technologies to would reduce energy associated with asphalt emissions by 50%.

The organization says it will promote warm mix asphalt technologies to reduce temperatures and emissions during mixture production. It also will develop a timeline for switching to more efficient equipment and fleets that use cleaner energy sources.

Its second goal is to reduce Scope 3 emissions by working with others to improve work zone environments, increase the life of asphalt and establish incentives to help improve vehicle emissions in operations and pavement quality.

Scope 3 emissions targets are important for the industry as annual demand for asphalt is 122.5 metric tons worldwide, according to a Yale report. Road asphalt alone can be impacted in a variety of ways and the Yale study found solar radiation can increase the pavement's emissions up to 300%.

The next goal NAPA outlines is to develop a net zero materials supply chain by 2050. NAPA says it will encourage increased use of recycled materials as well as promote improved recycling technologies such as cold central plant recycling, cold in-place recycling, full-depth reclamation and hot in-place recycling.

NAPA says recycled asphalt is the top recycled material in the United States and that the industry reused 87 million tons of it in 2020. It wants to implement a greater use of existing technology such as recycled and warm-mix asphalt while developing and implementing new technologies to reach net zero targets.

Sustainable asphalt production hinges on recycled materials. New sustainable plants in the United Kingdom by Harsco Environmental’s recently relaunched sustainable asphalt company SteelPhalt, for example, can produce asphalt using 95% recycled aggregates.

For its fourth goal, NAPA intends to transition to all renewable energy for electricity by 2050. The industry plans to transition to net zero energy wherever possible as well as increase electricity efficiency throughout its operations.

Additionally, the organization says it cannot achieve net zero without using carbon offsets, but it plans to only use carbon offsets as a last option.

NAPA will also publish a report as part of its net zero efforts documenting current emissions so the industry can see where it stands now on sustainability and begin to make changes. The organization says it will also develop a more detailed framework and form a research, development and sustainability team.

Environment + Energy Leader