Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CLEANTECHBLOCK2 (Market maturation of CleanTechBlock technology)

Teaser

Problem:Clay bricks are some of the most preferred building materials both as inner and as outer walls in Europe and have major markets shares in the construction sector in Europe and abroad. However, the long term use of these building materials face numerous threats...

Summary

Problem:
Clay bricks are some of the most preferred building materials both as inner and as outer walls in Europe and have major markets shares in the construction sector in Europe and abroad. However, the long term use of these building materials face numerous threats, namely:
• Tightened regulations on buildings energy consumption levels for 2020 demand less thermal loss through the outer walls, which is usually achieved with thicker walls. However, each additional 6 cm insulation thickness “costs” around 5% of indoor space, equating 7 - 8 m2 of living space in a typical family home.
• The goal of CO2 emissions reduction, new regulations and higher taxes on energy consumption from households dictate that the energy intensity of producing clay bricks (2030 KJ/kg) must be brought down to significantly lower levels.
• The building process in traditional cavity wall masonry is labour as well as time consuming with salary costs representing more than half the price per m2 of a cavity wall using small clay brick.

Societal issue:
Construction activities consume more raw materials by weight (as much as 50%) and energy than any other industrial sector. In Europe, the volume of building materials used exceeds 2Bn tons per year. The properties and combinations of materials determine the energy demand of buildings (about 40 % of global energy consumption), thus further increasing their environmental significance . This, together with increasing demands of resource-efficiency, emphasizes the need to develop and launch new materials that improve the energy-efficiency of buildings. Still, building materials must be designed not only to satisfy energy efficiency and indoor comfort, but also to have optimal structural and aesthetical functionalities

Overall objective:
GB vision is to take the final steps of commercial and technical development and product maturation towards the commercialization of CleanTechBlock (CTB) solution – a patented multifunctional sandwich-block solution based on the combination of two clay brick shells and foamed recycled glass. The advantages of CTB over bricks are compelling as the insulation, strength properties and construction price are similar to alternative solutions and it offers an overall increase in the inside living space (5%) and a potential reduction in the overall house wall construction time (5x faster), while reducing maintenance requirements and transportation costs.
This innovation project will result in the construction of two different buildings, each demonstrating and documenting the above two benefits in operation: a 165 m2 private home, where the 5% extra living space is of one of the benefits of high importance ii) a 1600 m2 sports hall, where the 10 times faster construction time will one of be the focus areas for demonstration and documentation

Work performed

\"Work performed in the period:
Overall the project is moving along as planned in the proposal. There has been a minor delay, due to an approval from a local municipality, but overall significant results have been achieved during the first 12 months of the project:
- Optimized the insulation properties of the CTB block in a lab setting,
- Optimized the insulation properties of the CTB block for production,
- Made a Mock-up (see picture) that is being used to present stakeholders and potential customers - production companies and architects,
- Filed a patent, \"\"method to produce glass foram\"\",
- Attended 2 key conferences (Munich and Copenhagen),
- Together with construction partner, made the plan to build the 165 m2 test house,
- Started production of the CTB bricks for the house,
- Filed a report to the a CE mark for the CTB bricks.\"

Final results

Beyond state of art:
There are two key achievements, that can be seen as moving beyond state of the art
1. optimized the insulation properties of the foam glass in a lab setting,
2. based on the experiences from the lab, optimize the production of the CTB block (with better insulation properties) for larger scale production.

Expected result for the rest of the project:
There are two key results to be achieved in the rest of the project. The key is to produce two building using the CTB bricks
- a 165 m2 private home, where the 5% extra living space is of one of the benefits of high importance ii),
- a 1600 m2 sports hall, where the 10 times faster construction time will one of be the focus areas for demonstration and documentation

These will be key in the future exploitation and commercialization of the CTB bricks.

Potential impacts:

The accomplishment of the project objectives will represent a significant business opportunity for GB, with an expected sales turnover of +50M 6 years after commercialization in the environmentally conscious construction segment (both residential and non-residential) of the primary targeted markets – Denmark, Sweden and Germany

Reduction of CO2 emission from energy intensive industry - Compared to the manufacturing of a traditional clay brick, which is a highly energy demanding process, the manufacturing of CTB will reduce the CO2 emission of the Brick work by up to 50%. In addition, the distribution of CTBs will reduce the CO2 emission from the transportation due to the high volume:weight ratio of the building blocks.

A residual of 4-5% of all glass in Europe cannot be recycled or reused - This residue is largely made up of glass which is contaminated and cannot be recycled having no commercial value. For instance, picture tubes from TV-Sets are contaminated and deposited in deep mines at high costs. This category of glass could be used and render great commercial value as glass foam in CTB.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.cleantechblock.com.