It seems that innovation never ceases to amaze in the tech domain. Check out the latest reports about how we can develop a new kind of building materials below.
Innovation in building materials
Imagine if we could construct buildings using waste or carbon-negative materials. Well, Biohm, a “biomanufacturing” company, is already doing this by making building materials from food waste such as mushrooms, orange peel, and cocoa husks.
This London-based company has created an alternative to wood-based sheet materials by using waste by-products from the food or agricultural sectors.
Their composite material, known as Orb, is 100% biodegradable and vegan, and can be moulded into various shapes. Biohm has also developed a revolutionary insulation panel using mycelium, the white, thread-like roots that grow from fungus. These natural mushroom fibres can even outperform some insulation products.
“Mycelium is usually found in forests, underground, and it holds the topsoil together. It allows plants to connect to one another – it’s like nature’s Internet. And we grow that into an insulation panel that can provide superior insulation values compared to other alternatives on the market,” says Biohm founder Ehab Sayed.
Cutting back on waste
Sayed was motivated to establish his company after witnessing the amount of waste generated by the construction industry. His company’s approach involves repurposing waste and producing biodegradable products, contributing to the idea of a “circular economy”.
The concept of a circular economy aims to move away from a society that relies on using up the earth’s finite resources in order to produce products that are often discarded, causing damage to the environment through the release of toxins. Instead, the emphasis is on designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and allowing natural resources to regenerate.
Biohm is a member of The Circulars Accelerator Cohort 2021 – it is important to note that the entity provides support for entrepreneurs in the circular economy sector to scale their innovations.
The accelerator is a collaboration between UpLink, the World Economic Forum’s innovation crowdsourcing platform, and professional services company Accenture, in partnership with Anglo American, Ecolab, and Schneider Electric.
