GS Construction Internal Venture No. 2, ZeroNextMaterials Spin-off

Development of Eco-Friendly Materials Using Steel Mill Byproducts

GS Construction's second in-house venture, 'Zero Next Materials,' is spinning off as an independent corporation to challenge the eco-friendly construction materials market.

GS Construction announced on the 12th that Zero Next Materials, which started as an in-house venture team, recently spun off after receiving investment from its subsidiary, the corporate venture capital Xplore Investment.

Ryu Jong-hyun, CEO of Zero Next Materials, recently spun off from the GS Construction in-house venture team (right), is taking a commemorative photo with Lee Jong-hoon, CEO of Xplore Investment. (Provided by GS Construction)

Zero Next Materials, meaning "preparing for what comes after carbon zero," is an eco-friendly construction materials company led by CEO Dr. Ryu Jong-hyun, a civil engineering PhD who has researched construction materials at GS Construction for over 20 years.

The company developed and plans to commercialize a product called 'Mortar Grout,' which replaces more than 80% of the cement used in grout (a high-cost construction material used to fill gaps or reinforce structures at construction sites) by mixing chemical additives with steelmaking slag, a byproduct mostly discarded from steel mills.

While reducing the amount of cement by nearly 80% compared to existing grout products, it maintains the same strength and also offers price competitiveness. Recognizing its growth potential, the company successfully secured investment funding. They recently completed a patent application for this technology and are starting full-scale product manufacturing through an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) method. Currently, they are negotiating contracts with domestic steel mills to secure raw material supply and are also in discussions with construction companies and construction material distributors.

CEO Ryu stated, "Our goal is to grow into a specialized eco-friendly low-carbon construction materials company, starting with the Mortar Grout product."

Meanwhile, GS Construction has been actively encouraging its in-house venture system since August 2020. In 2022, 'Indeed Lab,' a real estate information service provider, was the first to spin off through this system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.