To access our News Reviews, subscribe to our Information Package free of charge here.

Foreword

Almost half of all global emissions is linked to the built environment. Of these emissions, 27% is generated during the operation of buildings, while 13% comes from construction and demolition. The American Institute of Architects (AIK) UK has recently delivered a webinar that included stories of the latest decarbonization efforts from three R&D efforts in the biobased construction field. Axalta, a global leader in the coatings industry, presented their proprietary BIOCORE technology for powder coatings. This powder coating uses non-food organic waste as raw material and claims to reduce CO2 emissions by 25%. Also on the topic of coatings, Head of Sales Automotive and Industrial Coatings at Covestro, Berta Vega Sánchez stated in a recent interview that: “We are convinced that the share of bio-based coatings, encompassing both segregated and mass-balanced solutions, will experience significant growth”.

Next to present at the AIK webinar, University of East London (UEL) introduced the latest product of their R&D operations. Their innovation, Sugarcrete®, is a brick material made from sugarcane fibres left over after sugar production, with sand-mineral binders. The production procedure has a carbon footprint six times smaller than conventionally made clay bricks due to the storage of biogenic carbon from rapid-growing plants such as sugarcane. The first commercial manufacturing plant has already been established in India. Finally, Henning Larsen Architects, an international architectural firm based in Copenhagen, presented their collaboration with Feldballe School in Ronde. Their project developed a prefabricated wall panel system made of compressed straw.

In Germany, the researchers based at Fraunhofer IKTS have recently optimised a technique of producing biogenic construction materials from cyanobacteria. The research group has exploited the ability of cyanobacteria to induce the production of CaCO3-rich structures known as stromatolites...

Other News this Month Includes: