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In the rush to help create low carbon economies as a solution to curbing climate change, the construction industry has strived to create zero-carbon homes whose footprint is negligible. Now UK company Lignacite has developed the Carbon Buster, a building block that is actually carbon negative.

Made from over 50 percent recycled material, the brick is an amalgam of cement, sand and water. It also features wood particles that sequester carbon dioxide and store the gas in the block itself, rather than emitting it into the atmosphere. According to test results, its 3.6N/mm2 strength bricks have an embodied carbon level of -14 kg per tonne – compared to the industry standard of 100kg. Its 7.3N/mm2 strength model also has -3 kg per tonne rating. According to the company, the blocks are suitable for most building projects and also offer greater noise absorption than industry standards.

The Carbon Buster goes some way to providing architects and construction companies with a material that takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, rather than adding it. Could this eventually become the standard for carbon zero homes?