5 years after launching its innovative Ok-Briq product, Scottish tech startup Kenoteq is now starting business manufacturing of its low-carbon recycled bricks.
The Development Index first reported at the Ok-Briq in February 2020 when Kenoteq introduced that it had perfected a procedure that might develop into abnormal building waste right into a low carbon brick that required no kiln-firing, contained no cement however had the similar bodily houses as a regular clay brick.
The product grew out of greater than 10 years’ analysis by means of Gabriela Medero, professor of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering at Heriot-Watt College who, along with her colleague Dr Sam Chapman, co-founded Kenoteq in 2019 to broaden and marketplace the Ok-Briq.
Nevertheless it has taken some other 5 years of exhaustive checking out to achieve the level the place the Ok-Briq can also be specified with self assurance. Now the corporate is making plans to fabricate as much as two million Ok-Briqs yearly.
And not using a same old checking out regime for a non-traditional development subject material of this sort, the Ok-Briq needed to go through an unparalleled degree of technical analysis together with 16 rigorous exams that exceeded the necessities in most cases demanded of ordinary clay bricks. As a result of its distinctive composition and unfired manufacturing procedure, the Ok-Briq required a checking out method to be advanced specifically.
Kenoteq says the Ok-Briq completed the utmost sturdiness score imaginable, which is especially necessary for the United Kingdom marketplace. And the Ok-Briq now has what for lots of is without equal technical thumbs-up for a building product: certification from the British Board of Agrément (BBA). In different phrases, it’s been qualified with the similar accreditation as same old clay bricks, but produces 95% much less embodied carbon because of its manufacturing procedure.
With its sturdiness and suitability as a building product thus confident, the Ok-Briq can now exploit its true, if now not distinctive, promoting level: that it represents a real round financial system resolution by means of turning waste again right into a number one development subject material. It’s created from recycled plasterboard, brick, stone, rubble and previous mortar along with recycled pigments and – consistent with Kenoteq – addresses the numerous waste problem dealing with the development trade thru true round financial system rules.
Kenoteq is now starting business manufacturing of as much as two million bricks a yr
at its manufacturing facility in East Lothian; the plant is able to scaling manufacturing as much as 4 million as required, says the corporate, which in the end plans to arrange regional manufacturing each in the United Kingdom and the world over to supply low carbon development merchandise from native waste.
In line with Kenoteq, the United Kingdom is Europe’s biggest marketplace for bricks, the usage of round 2.5 billion of them annually. With greater than 500 million imported, together with 50 million from outdoor the EU, the environmental affect is colossal, it claims: “Nowadays’s staple building merchandise drain finite sources whilst the sphere is the most important contributor to landfill waste. The United Kingdom additionally depends on an environmentally harmful degree of ordinary prime carbon brick imports.”
Kenoteq additionally says that greater than a 3rd of the waste in international landfills is of demolition and building foundation and that building, demolition and excavation waste accounts for as much as 60 million tonnes, or 60-65% of overall waste, generated in the United Kingdom.
The Ok-Briq is “a really transformative development subject material,” says Chapman. “In contrast to approaches that merely deal with the indications of building’s environmental affect, the Ok-Briq addresses the basis motive by means of without delay tackling the waste disaster whilst handing over a product that plays precisely like ordinary fabrics, together with the clay brick.
“The Ok-Briq is not only an environmentally awesome selection to standard bricks, however a technically powerful development subject material appropriate for quite a lot of building programs. With our [BBA] certification secured, we will now scale up manufacturing to fulfill marketplace necessities whilst keeping up the phenomenal high quality and sustainability credentials that set us aside.”
Kenoteq says it will probably produce recycled bricks are compatible to be used inside of 24 hours of the processed waste arriving at its manufacturing unit.
“Securing BBA certification lets in our product to be specified with self assurance on business initiatives throughout the United Kingdom. We’ve already observed vital hobby from main assets builders, architectural companies and public sector our bodies dedicated to lowering the carbon footprint in their building initiatives,” says Chapman.
“The development trade is beneath expanding power to scale back its environmental affect whilst keeping up prime requirements of high quality and protection. The BBA certification of the Ok-Briq demonstrates that those targets aren’t mutually unique – we will construct higher whilst development greener.”
Builders within the Town of London, tutorial institutions and primary city regeneration initiatives usually are amongst early adopters, he provides.
In line with Kenoteq, the Ok-Briq has completed 100 tonnes of carbon financial savings in demonstration initiatives delivered so far. And with 95% much less embodied carbon than a conventional brick, the Ok-Briq gives vital benefits for the reason that embodied carbon is a very powerful to the whole-life carbon affect of structures.
Embodied carbon can account for greater than 50% of a development’s overall carbon footprint but, consistent with Kenoteq, it has won much less consideration than operational carbon in laws and trade practices.
The corporate says that the roughly 12,000 clay bricks used to construct a regular two-bedroom space in the United Kingdom is answerable for emissions identical to five.46 tonnes of CO2 (CO2e). Construction the similar space with the Ok-Briq generates simply 0.2 tonnes of CO2e.
All Ok-Briqs now reach the best possible degree of sturdiness score beneath BBA certification and the Medero Darkish Gray Ok-Briq variant has completed an A-class fireplace score, permitting its use in structures classed because the best possible possibility. They’re all to be had in 12 other colors, produced the usage of recycled pigments, providing architects and builders aesthetic flexibility with out compromising on environmental efficiency.
The BBA certification paves the best way for the Ok-Briq for use in a variety of creating programs, enjoyable insurance coverage, guaranty, loan and third-party legal responsibility necessities that experience prior to now been obstacles to the popular adoption of novel building fabrics.
Early-adopter initiatives throughout the United Kingdom and Europe have helped to exhibit the classy and technical features of the Ok-Briq. Notable initiatives come with Scotland’s Nationwide Retrofit Centre at BE-ST (Constructed Surroundings Smarter Transformation), Oaklands School in St Albans, a sustainability-blueprint hypermarket retailer in Germany owned by means of Kaufland (which additionally owns Lidl) and the fast-growing upmarket Gail’s bakery chain.
Already Kinoteq has its eyes on markets additional afield with certification to be used in the United States during the DrJ Technical Analysis Document (TER) accreditation scheme. With twin global certification secured, and Eu certification beneath means, the corporate is already fielding enquiries from the world over.
Ok-Briq at a look
The analysis and building of the Ok-Briq used to be supported by means of Constructed Surroundings Smarter Transformation (BE-ST), 0 Waste Scotland, Scottish Undertaking, and the Royal Academy of Engineering. It’s made by means of Kenoteq, based totally in East Lothian.
Kenoteq has won a variety of awards, together with the BE-ST Round Economic system Award 2023, Dezeen Award 2022 in Sustainable Design, VIBES Scottish Environmental Industry Awards 2022 – Round Scotland, and The Instances Upper Award: STEM Analysis Undertaking of the 12 months 2020.
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