Red Sea Global (RSG), the multi-project developer behind the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism destinations, The Red Sea and Amaala, has agreed a pilot project to lay Partanna’s carbon negative concrete pavers at its landscape nursery.

Partanna is the pioneer of the world’s first carbon negative concrete, with technology that not only avoids carbon emissions, but naturally removes it from the atmosphere. RSG has agreed a pilot project for the manufacture, delivery and installation of an initial 11,000 carbon negative pavers.

The pavers will be placed at RSG’s landscape nursery, the largest in the region at one million m2, which is set to grow more than 30 million plants by 2030 to landscape The Red Sea and Amaala destinations.

“We believe that sustainability is no longer enough. We need to find ways to restore and regenerate the planet. That is why we have committed to increasing the net conservation benefit at our destinations by 30 percent through the enhancement of habitats that ensure biodiversity can flourish, and to being carbon neutral when we become fully operational. Green technologies such as Partanna’s carbon negative concrete could play a crucial role in helping us achieve these ambitious aims and even going one step further to become carbon negative,” said John Pagano, Group Chief Executive Officer at Red Sea Global.

The product supply agreement and first pilot scheme follow a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two organizations at COP27 in Egypt last year.

Under the arrangement, both parties will scope out future pilot projects – including applications of Partanna’s ocean-resilient concrete as an infrastructure solution to coral reef restoration projects at Red Sea Global.

Using recycled ocean water brine in its concrete, Partanna’s innovative solution is better suited to under-ocean conditions than traditional concrete, and has been proven to be more durable.

Rick Fox, former Los Angeles Lakers basketball star and Hollywood actor, Co-Founder of Partanna Global, said: “Red Sea Global is right, sustainability isn’t enough. We say that carbon avoidance isn’t enough either. The world desperately needs removal solutions and our technology can perform like no other, permanently locking in the carbon it absorbs. With a shared vision to make the world a better place, we have high expectations for what RSG and Partanna can achieve together. Our plan to pioneer ground-breaking technology solutions for the global coral reef development industry could set a new standard for marine stewardship.”

Partanna is as durable, versatile and scalable as traditional cement. Its use of brine as a core ingredient brings unique benefits to the Middle East, where desalination plants can harvest more fresh water per liter processed and provide Partanna with the rest.

Red Sea Global has embraced sustainable constriction techniques at every opportunity, from offsite modular construction to crushing construction waste that can’t be recycled and using it as fill material, by incinerating waste that can’t be recycled and using the resulting ask for the manufacture of bricks. As a result, The Red Sea became the first development in the Middle East to secure LEED platinum certification, the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest level of certification.

The Red Sea destination is set to welcome first guests this year when the first three hotels and phase one of the international airport open. It will become the world’s largest destination to run solely on renewable energy from opening. Its five solar farms for phase one are 98.6 percent complete, with more than 750,000 panels now installed.

About Red Sea Global

Red Sea Global (RSG – www.redseaglobal.com) is a closed joint-stock company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia.

RSG is a global multi-project developer, seeking to lead the world towards a more sustainable future, showing how responsible and development can uplift communities, drive economies, and enhance the environment. The protection of natural capital is central to all development decisions, as the organization seeks to create a better future for all.

A cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambition to diversify its economy, RSG is playing a key role in transforming the nation, by creating exciting opportunities for young Saudi talent and the private sector, as it develops built assets and destinations across multiple sectors that make a positive impact for people and planet.

RSG is the visionary company behind some of the world’s most ambitious development ventures, including luxury regenerative tourism destinations such as The Red Sea and Amaala.

Across its portfolio, RSG leverages the most innovative concepts, strategies, and technologies to deliver projects.

About Partanna Global:

Partanna Global is a technology company that is helping to disconnect global development from pollution. It has pioneered the world’s first carbon negative building material, that avoids emissions and removes CO₂ naturally. The material is just as durable, affordable, and versatile as traditional concrete, and generates top-performing, carbon removal credits. Through its application across various industries, Partanna’s technology generates top-performing carbon credits in a fast-growing global market.

About Partanna’s technology:

Partanna’s carbon-negative building material is just as affordable, versatile, and durable as traditional cement, but is made in a way that’s much better for the environment. Instead of using Portland cement, which is a major source of carbon emissions, Partanna uses a special mixture of natural and recycled ingredients. This mixture is cured at an ambient temperature.

The binder components in Partanna consume CO2 as they cure, removing carbon from the atmosphere in the process. Partanna uses an alternate method of activating the material that is found in natural pozzolans, which avoids the energy-intensive clinkering process and the enormous process CO2 emissions that result from it. Instead, Partanna uses a brine activator that helps form solid carbonates, consuming CO2 in the process.

As these materials dissolve and react, they form a new type of binding agent that performs the same function as traditional cement.

A regular Partanna concrete masonry unit block will avoid and remove 14.3 kg (31.4 lb) of carbon. One 1,250 square-foot home would remove almost 130 metric tons of CO2 and avoid another 54 metric tons, delivering 182.6 credits.