Nowadays, construction companies are forced to significantly reduce their environmental impact while also ensuring their financial sustainability. Since construction companies typically lack the capacity for innovation, they must rely on external research and development. LATOM analyzes the entire process of building-material production, uses life cycle assessment to identify potential environmental savings, and applies advanced techniques to improve products and processes. Thanks to LATOM, construction companies save money by upgrading their products to meet environmental standards.
The construction sector accounts for 10.1% of GDP in EU27 countries, and the construction materials market was valued at USD 1.32 trillion in 2023. One of today’s key climate challenges is reducing the environmental impact of construction, as this industry is a leading emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible for as much as 40% of total emissions. Achieving more sustainable solutions while maintaining financial stability is only possible through changing conventional business practices and actively investing in innovation. The traditional approach of construction companies is generally focused on production and operational tasks, with less attention devoted to innovation. Therefore, it is crucial for companies in the construction sector to seek expertise and research capacity beyond their own organizations.
Problem
The lack of experts specialized in performing detailed life cycle assessments of materials while simultaneously developing innovative solutions represents a key challenge. This shortage limits the industry’s capacity to fully respond to demands for reducing environmental impact and implementing sustainable practices in construction projects. Consequently, the industry lags behind in achieving sustainability goals and misses opportunities to develop innovative materials and processes that could transform it toward a more environmentally friendly business model
Solution
LATOM provides a comprehensive analysis of building-material production processes, using life cycle assessment to identify potential environmental savings, and offers improvements to construction products through advanced techniques. Through LATOM, construction companies can optimize their products to meet environmental standards, achieving financial savings at the same time. LATOM’s strengths lie in its expertise—further enhanced through training at leading global institutions—its adaptability to client needs, and its innovative, holistic approach to building-material development.
Team members
LATOM consists of four members from the Department of Materials at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb. The long-term collaboration among colleagues Marijana, Matea, and Ivana was recently joined by colleague Valentina.
Valentina Mustapić is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb. She holds a master’s degree from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, specializing in modeling theories of structural systems. Her main research area is the storage of captured CO₂ in construction products, with the aim of creating new building materials with neutral or negative CO₂ emissions.
Matea Flegar is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering in Zagreb. She holds two master’s degrees—one in construction materials from the University of Zagreb, and one in construction science and technology from TU Vienna. Before joining academia, she worked in industry for two years. Her main research focus is on advanced testing methods for new types of cement with a reduced environmental impact. Her primary goal is to develop systems that can be used in everyday construction projects, enabling the most significant environmental savings.
Ivana Carević is a postdoctoral researcher and senior expert advisor at the Department of Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb. She actively participates in scientific and professional projects related to construction materials, with an emphasis on using waste as a secondary raw material in the construction sector, while adhering to principles of sustainability, safety, and functionality. She also works on projects related to energy efficiency in buildings and innovation development in the construction sector. She specializes in quantifying sustainability in construction.
Marijana Serdar is an associate professor at the Department of Materials, Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb. She conducted part of her doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at CEA Saclay, France. She has participated—as collaborator, national lead, and principal investigator—in the application and implementation of over 25 international and national projects focused on introducing innovations and improving materials, processes, and structures from a sustainability perspective. Her main expertise is the durability and sustainability of construction materials and structures.
Motivation for Applying and Vision for the End of the Nuqleus Program
Our main motivation for applying were the educational workshops led by top experts, which we had the opportunity to attend over the past few months. The exchange of ideas, suggestions, and experiences with other teams enabled us to improve our initial concept. Developing a business plan, prototype, strategy, conducting market research, and defining market positioning were just some of the topics we were able to consider, hear about, and learn from.
Our vision by the end of the Nuqleus program is to find the optimal legal structure and business strategy that will enable a healthy and self-sustaining spin-off of our laboratory from the parent institution.
