immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Category: Sustainability

  • Coconut fiber becomes a building material

    Coconut fiber becomes a building material

    As early as 2014, the Institute for Materials and Wood Technology (IWH) at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) started a research project in which inexpensive and sustainable building material based on coconut fibers was to be developed, the BFH informed in a message . The experience gained is being further developed by Michail Kyriazopoulos in a spin-off from the BFH. The former student and research assistant at the IWH founded the start-up NaturLoop together with Daniel Dinizo.

    As the first product, NaturLoop has launched a building board made from coconut fibers. Crop waste from Filipino coconut farmers is used for their production. "With Cocoboard we offer a sustainable, cheap and local alternative to conventional building materials", Kyriazopoulos is quoted in the communication. The next thing on the NaturLoop program is the opening of a production facility in the Philippines.

    The products of the young company from Bern are intended to reduce the Philippines' dependence on imported building materials. The sale of coconut fibers also offers local coconut farmers an additional source of income. "As a technology service provider, we want to offer complete solutions for the development of sustainable, natural biocomposites made from agricultural by-products," says NaturLoop CEO Dinizio. For him, sustainability means "taking into account the mutual dependence of nature and people."

  • Siloxene offers "miracle material" for the chemical industry

    Siloxene offers "miracle material" for the chemical industry

    After a successful research career at the Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt ( Empa ), Matthias Koebel founded his own start-up called Siloxene. With this he wants to market a multifunctional material component that he discovered and researched during his time at Empa.

    In a press release , Empa describes the development as a “miracle material” for the chemical industry. Specifically, it is a silicon-based, molecular hybrid building material that is only about a nanometer in size. The material can be used to improve the properties of adhesives, coatings or fillers depending on the product and customer requirements. For example, coatings can be made more scratch-resistant or adhesives can have a shorter curing time. Empa also compares the material with the gene scissors Crispr / Cas, which was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine. This can be used to cure genetic diseases.

    With its new start-up, which is based in Dübendorf, Koebel is primarily aimed at companies in the plastics processing, adhesive or sealant production and the building materials industry. "The regulatory hurdles are not so high here and we can relatively easily optimize their products and processes with the companies," he explains in the press release.

    Koebel is currently concentrating on expanding its research and development department and on customer acquisition. He first wants to have his macromolecule produced by a contract manufacturer. "In the long term, however, I would like to set up my own production," he emphasizes.

  • Matériaux Sabag prints concrete elements

    Matériaux Sabag prints concrete elements

    Matériaux Sabag is expanding its offer with a 3D printing solution for concrete elements. The company, based in Delémont, has been using a robot since the end of September that enables 3D printing using the concrete spraying process. The concrete elements can thus be tailor-made in the prefabrication. The solution allows the use of raw materials from local production, writes the company in a press release . In addition, CO2 emissions can be reduced by 30 percent. “In this way we will be able to accept urgent orders and react flexibly to customer requests so that we can meet the requirements of the construction sites,” Cédric Theubet, Operations Manager at Matériaux Sabag, is quoted in the press release.

    The Jura specialist for building materials is the first company in Switzerland to use this Mobbot solution. The start-up from Freiburg i.Ue. develops robot platforms for 3D concrete printing. His 3D printing of concrete parts means that cladding can be dispensed with and less manual work is required. Mobbot was founded in 2018 by Agnès Petit and today has eleven employees.

  • Porta Samedan is built with recycled building material

    Porta Samedan is built with recycled building material

    The new Porta Samedan shopping center is being realized by Migros Ostschweiz and Pfister Immobilien AG . During these days, the concreting of the floors of the new building is taking place, according to a media release . When it comes to building materials, the partners rely on the circular economy. Recycled products are used for both concrete and cement.

    The one main component in concrete is cement. This comes by train from the Holcim plant in Untervaz GR to the Upper Engadin, where Montebello produces the recycled concrete on site. The Holcim product Susteno is used. According to the information, this is the only resource-saving cement in Europe in which the fine proportion of mixed granulate from demolished buildings is used as an additive, which cannot be used in concrete production. Holcim can completely close the building material cycle with Susteno, as this material would otherwise have to be dumped.

    The other main component in concrete are the aggregates. "Here we rely on recycling: instead of natural gravel, we use demolition material from the region," explains Flurin Wieser from the Engadin construction company Montebello.

    "The Porta Samedan development shows that the building materials industry, with innovative products and solutions, is playing an increasingly important role in the transition to the circular economy and is making a significant contribution to a sustainably built future," said Philippe Rey, Head of Cement Sales German-speaking Switzerland at Holcim Switzerland.

    Porta Samedan is scheduled for completion in 2021. Among other things, it will house the first Migros supermarket in the Engadine.