Biomineralization is, literally, as old as the hills: many sedimentary rocks were deposited by bacterial processes. Scientists and engineers are working to use this process as the basis for a new generation of bio-materials with applications in structural, geotechnical engineering, water engineering and beyond.

Self-healing concrete can increase the service life of buildings, thus lowering the demand for new-build materials and related CO2 emissions. It would also simplify maintenance and reduce cost, e.g. by removing the need to replace expensive utilities (in England and Wales, leaking pipes mean losses of more than 3bn litres of water/day, about 54 litres/day/person).

Our work is divided in four work packages through which we will develop and deploy the first simulation-guided design of MICP-based self-healing concrete.

                                    Multiscale process of Biomineralization‌