Summary Draft 2

In the article “The Self-Healing Concrete…” Spinks (2015) stated that Hendrik Jonkers, a microbiologist at Delft University, has innovated a form of self-healing concrete and discussed whether the industry is keen on picking up the technology. This technology works by embedding 'self-activating limestone-producing bacteria into building material', thus lowering maintenance and repair costs for buildings. However, Spinks mentions that the innovation cannot cure 'wide cracks or potholes on roads', and a cubic-meter of it costs €100 as opposed to the standard €70. These disadvantages would be reason enough for the industry to shun the use of such technology. According to Spinks, John Alker, director of policy at the UK Green Building Council, believes that flaunting the benefits of new green technology would make its adoption successful, albeit acknowledging the stubbornness of the construction industry in adopting new ideas. Spinks said that Jonkers acknowledges this problem, and after doing a concrete-canal project in Ecuador, he was optimistic that the industry will come to see the benefit of his innovation. The article fails to mention that the high price of the self-healing concrete is due to the technology being in its infancy and the lack of adoption and mass production of the technology itself.

Reference:

Spinks, R. (2015, June 29). Sustainable business. Retrieved February 15, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/jun/29/the-self-%20healing-concrete-that-can-fix-its-own-cracks