Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the construction industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked circular economy solutions.
Global Startup Heat Map: 5 Top Circular Economy Solutions
The 5 circular economy solutions you will explore below are chosen based on our data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. This analysis is based on the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 1.3 million startups & scaleups globally.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the 5 startups & scaleups our Innovation Researchers curated for this report. Moreover, you get insights into regions that observe a high startup activity and the global geographic distribution of the 310 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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IndiNature produces Natural Fiber Insulation Material
The high carbon footprint of the construction sector largely stems from the use of unsustainable materials. For instance, the production of insulation materials, such as fiberglass, mineral wool, and polystyrene, creates significant carbon emissions. Moreover, overheating becomes a problem during summers in regions with warmer climates, requiring further energy usage for cooling. Natural insulation materials address these concerns and lower the carbon footprint of insulation.
IndiNature is a Scottish startup developing natural fiber insulation material. The startup’s process converts local crops and plant-based materials into insulation materials. IndiTherm provides thermal insulation, whereas IndiBoard provides both thermal and acoustic insulation. During summer, the material stores excess heat and releases it at night, thereby preventing overheating.
Agilcare Construction enables Renewable Construction
A lot of materials used in the construction sector are never reused or recycled. Renewable construction offers a solution to minimize material waste in the industry. Startups use sustainable materials to develop prefabricated parts that are easy to reuse in another project. This minimizes material waste and emissions in existing projects, as well as reduces the cost of subsequent projects.
French startup Agilcare Construction provides bio-based materials, sourced from sustainably managed forests, for renewable construction. The startup develops Nano, prefabricated wooden and eco-friendly elements. The startup’s product is easy to assemble and disassemble, promoting circularity in construction. The integration of Nano into building structures does not generate any waste and provides efficiency and flexibility in construction.
Bao Living designs Adaptive Modules
Modular buildings are gaining traction in the construction sector as a sustainable and adaptive alternative to traditional construction. It allows customers to put together prefabricated parts as they wish while minimizing waste. Moreover, the parts are easy to disassemble, reconfigure, and reuse. By integrating utilities in their design, adaptive modules also provide higher energy efficiency as compared to traditional buildings.
Belgian startup Bao Living designs adaptive modules for sustainable and affordable residential construction. The startup provides the Smart Adaptable Module (SAM), a modular solution that integrates all appliances and utilities in a transformable unit. The startup’s solution reduces the carbon footprint of the construction process, as well as leads to energy savings.
Arqlite facilitates Plastic Upcycling
Large quantities of plastics end up in either landfills or water bodies. On the other hand, the construction industry is looking for materials to recycle in building materials to lower its carbon footprint. The heterogeneous nature of plastic waste in terms of types and quality makes it challenging to recycle them directly. Construction startups are working on plastic upcycling solutions that convert them into construction materials.
Arqlite is a US-based startup upcycling plastics to create construction materials. The startup’s proprietary technology recycles plastic waste from the packaging industry into Smart Gravel, a light and durable insulator. It finds use as a replacement for small amounts of mineral gravel, reducing the carbon footprint of the concrete mix. By enabling companies to offset plastics, the startup’s solution promotes the transition to a circular economy.
MatMap provides a Digital Ceramic Marketplace
Construction waste is an underutilized source of materials that are otherwise expensive and produce carbon emissions. Recovering material from demolished or disinvested projects helps builders mitigate these costs. However, it is hard for builders to recover enough quantities of materials they need from their previous projects. That is why startups are building an online marketplace to help builders find recovered materials and reduce costs.
Spanish startup MatMap provides an online marketplace for ceramic materials. It recovers ceramics from demolition sites, discontinued projects, and leftover items from construction projects. Recovered ceramics are reused in pavements, coatings, roof tiles, lattices, and bricks. By optimizing material use and reducing costs of construction projects, the startup enables a circular economy in the sector.
Discover all Construction Startups
To keep you up-to-date on the latest technology and emerging solutions, we provide you with actionable innovation intelligence – quickly and exhaustively. You can download our free Construction Innovation Report and discover new business opportunities or save your time & let us look into your areas of interest. We provide you with an exhaustive overview of new startups, scaleups & emerging technologies that matter to you.
