The UEL Bioconcrete Partnership Receives A Distinguished Award

The UEL Bioconcrete Partnership Receives a Distinguished Award

A coveted £815,000 Innovate UK funding has been given to a University of East London cooperation with a start-up, Biozeroc, and Maplex Technology for a project that aims to replace carbon-intensive cement with a material based on bacteria.

The UK’s national innovation agency holds competitive grants, and Biozeroc claims the cash is an essential step towards increasing the manufacturing of the concrete substitute. The research will employ biotech and currently available materials in a novel way to “grow” the new binder.

Biozeroc’s CEO, Liv Andersson, praised the collaboration and the Innovate UK grant. “We are excited to work with Maplex Technology and the University of East London on this innovative project,” the statement read. By incorporating bio-based components into the production of concrete, our combined efforts hope to revolutionize the construction sector. We shall clear the path for a future that is more ecologically friendly and sustainable together.

According to the start-up, the project is a major step towards the UK’s “net-zero” carbon ambitions, since the manufacture of concrete accounts for 8% of all emissions worldwide. It attempts to establish a method that uses leftovers from other industries to incorporate bio-based ingredients into the production of concrete, minimizing waste and the negative environmental effects of the building sector.

Water consumption for the new method will be lower than that of traditional concrete production.

Professor David Tann, the dean of UEL’s School of Architecture, Computing, and Engineering, emphasized how the initiative fits in with the university’s sustainability objectives. “By 2030, UEL hopes to have a carbon-neutral campus,” he stated. We are excited to start this ground-breaking project and are confident that it will produce creative results with significant environmental advantages.

According to Dr. Ali Abbas, an Associate Professor of Engineering and Construction at UEL, the civil engineering laboratories of the University are the ideal location for carrying out the project’s research. He declared, “The Department of Engineering and Construction is a leader in promoting good change in the industry and is well-known for its work on bacteria-based self-healing concrete research. For this project to be successful, UEL researchers’ experience and lab space will be essential, particularly in the areas of low-carbon concrete and sustainable building materials.
In the upcoming months, Biozeroc plans to raise more funding in order to expedite the product’s path to market.

Leaders in the industry Aggregate Industries, Ibstock Futures, Breedon, and Buro Happold have already endorsed the initiative; their knowledge and resources should be invaluable in the execution and verification of the bioconcrete production process.