Bristol, UK, October 2024. Adaptavate has announced the kick-off of a £1 million Innovate UK Grant to optimize the cost and scalability of its carbon-negative alternative to plasterboard. The company will work in collaboration with the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC), a UK leading Research and Technology Organisation and subsidiary of the University of York, to establish an innovative carbon-storing feedstock source and develop a cost-comparable, first-of-its-kind carbon-negative plasterboard alternative.
Adaptavate plans to expand on the environmental benefits of its revolutionary technology by utilizing hard-to-treat post-consumer and industrial wastes, pre-treating them to turn them into carbon-storing aggregates with high permeance, and then incorporating them into the product, permanently locking up the carbon into high-performing wallboards.
The 24-month-long project will also deliver key innovations to Adaptavate’s industrial process for streamlined manufacturability and cost-competitiveness. Adaptavate, in collaboration with BDC, will develop a cost model and specifications for a production facility to ensure performance, manufacturability, and material suitability.
The work with BDC will also quantify the end-of-life benefits of Adaptavate’s plasterboard alternative by investigating the use of construction and demolition waste as both a valuable soil additive and inputs to further production.
Jeff Ive, CTO at Adaptavate, says: ‘This project will facilitate the adoption of our technology globally by making it more cost-competitive while improving its carbon removal potential. The adoption of our patented technology can play a significant role in the decarbonisation of the construction industry, given the globally ubiquitous nature of plasterboard, its application in internal linings and the opportunities available to innovate in non-load bearing structure.’
Dr. Peter Hurst, Lead Technologist at the BDC, says: ‘We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Adaptavate on this exciting project. BDC’s expertise in scaling up bio-based solutions, combined with Adaptavate’s innovative technology, positions us to make a real impact on the construction industry. By reducing the environmental footprint of buildings and promoting renewable materials, we’re taking a step towards a more sustainable future.’
The innovative incorporation of novel feedstocks will improve the commercial scalability of Adaptavate’s carbon-negative technology and builds on previous proof-of-concept work done with BDC that identified performance benefits to the product, such as improved thermal and moisture handling characteristics. This alternative to plasterboard also mitigates gypsum’s growing price and resource scarcity while aiding the construction industry’s transition to net-zero.
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