Cutting down CO₂.
Traditional cement production accounts for 8% of global CO₂ emissions. Without radical change, building our world’s infrastructure destroys our chance at a healthy and safe future.
Growing cement tiles. Like nature.
Our partner Biomason learned how nature grows through one of its most robust and enduring structures: coral. Taking inspiration from marine ecosystems, Biomason is on a path to greatly minimize carbon emissions in the production of building materials. With the help of bacteria, this tile grew in less than three days. It’s 20% lighter than a concrete block but three times stronger.
And the best thing?
These tiles do not require kiln firing.
Lighter than a concrete block
Stronger than a concrete block
Fewer CO₂ emissions than traditional cement
Facades interior / exterior
Interior walls walls / furniture
Flooring interior / exterior
Sizes
228 x 54 x 19 mm 400 x 40 x 19 mm 400 x 200 x 19 mm
Order size within EU (including UK)
> 100 m²
Order size outside EU
> 500 m²
Just three days of curing. No CO₂ emissions during this process. 3x Stronger than traditional cement block. These are just some of the details of our new BioBasedTile. Wondering how this is possible?
Biomason, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, United States, is the only company in the world employing biology to produce cement.
Since 2012, the company has used microorganisms to grow sustainable, structural biocement in ambient temperatures, harnessing the power of biotechnology to reinvent traditional cement and offer a planet-friendly alternative.
With a brand new production facility that is currently being installed in Europe, the BioBasedTile is by far the most sustainable option for architects, real estate developers, and retail organisations that are committed to lowering their CO₂ footprint.
We will be working closely together with Biomason to incorporate their unique technology into our portfolio of groundbreaking products and are looking forward to propelling the adoption of low-carbon building materials in the construction industry. And we need your help!
We’re looking for architects, real estate developers and retail organisations that are looking to lower their CO₂ footprint of material use on a large and systematic scale. Reach out to our sales team and make sure you are among the early adopters getting access to these materials.
The short answer is no. Not yet.
The factory that will produce the BioBasedTile on a large scale is located in Denmark. The Biomason EPD team is working closely together with the engineers in Denmark to calculate the environmental profile of the actual product made over here.
To prevent the circulation of multiple EPDs of the BioBasedTiles, we will be waiting for the new publication which represents the commercial product we are selling.
The primary component of traditional concrete is Portland cement. Portland cement is manufactured from crushed limestone (calcium carbonate). There are two main stages in the manufacturing of portland cement.
The first stage, calcination, requires heating limestone to temperatures greater than 800 degrees Celsius (~1,500 F), resulting in calcium oxide and carbon dioxide gas.
The second stage, clinker formation, combines calcium oxide with silicates at furnace temperatures greater than 1,300 degrees Celsius (~2,400 F).
Manufacturing 1 KG of Portland cement releases approximately 1 KG of carbon dioxide into the environment. Half of this comes from the calcination of the limestone, and the other half from the combustion of fossil fuels necessary to achieve the required kiln temperatures. Additional atmospheric byproducts of portland cement production include dioxin, NOx, SO₂, and particulates.
No. Throughout the years, our partner Biomason developed their own binder that we use for the BioBasedTiles. The process relies on bacteria for the growth of cement rather than burning fuels for calcination resulting in a lighter, stronger, and thinner material.
The final material consists of approximately 85% natural aggregate, and 15% biologically grown limestone.
Naturally occurring bacteria are used to produce BioBasedTiles, a non-modified bacteria described as a wild-type strain. The non-pathogenic strain was isolated from a species commonly found in global natural environments.
These bacteria typically create cemented materials over hundreds or thousands of years, but the binding process enables them to do the same work in days.
The size of the BioBasedTiles does not change from the time it is formed in production. During production, they increase in density. The “growing” happens as biologically produced calcium carbonate forms bridges between the aggregate grains, strengthening the unit from within. BioBasedTiles do not warp during production.
Bacteria are everywhere in the world around us. Generally speaking, they need two things to survive: nutrients and moisture. BioBasedTiles do retain trace bacteria from the growth process. However, these exist in a dormant state and require conditions beyond those commonly found in the built environment to become active.
It takes less than 72 hours for our BioBasedTiles to reach full cure strength, and this is continuously improving through Biomason’s rapid research and development. As a note—traditional concrete can take up to 28 days to cure!
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