Start-up Aquipor designed a pavement material with submicron-sized pores that allows water to pass through, but everything else to stay on the surface.

While parts of the world like Greece and California are currently on fire, other, traditionally wetter areas are experiencing heavy rainfall and flooding, like in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. One reason for the water problems are the large quantity of use of stony materials, which prevent water from going into the ground.

Of course, the most obvious solution is to get rid of stony materials and replace it with green spaces. However, when pavement is needed, that is where Aquipor’s concrete material comes in. The surface technology has the strength and durability of traditional concrete, but features water flow rates that allow large volumes of rainfall to pass through it naturally.

There are other permeable pavement solutions, but these often feature large holes, which can get clogged. Another advantage of Aquipor’s material, aside from being permeable, is that only water can get through. Particles, dirt and debris stays on the surface. Aquipor’s permeable detention tanks receive water from the upper surface area and allow it to slowly dissipate into natural soils, ultimately moving filtered stormwater back to the aquifer.

The material embodies a fraction of the carbon footprint that normal concrete does, but still maintains strength and durability that rivals high-strength concrete and features permeability rates that can handle most 100-year storm events.

The material is precast and can be made in an array of sizes and colours, ranging from large sidewalk panels to smaller architectural pavers. Its production process uses reclaimed construction aggregates and does not use pollutive petroleum-based or Portland-based cements.

Image: Aquipor