Innovating to reduce embodied carbon 

With a government target in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, innovators within the construction sector are exploring ways to reduce the environmental impact of property development and the built environment.

While much of the focus to date has targeted energy-saving technologies, innovators in the sector are increasingly turning their attentions to tackling ‘embodied carbon’. Every building material has its own carbon footprint. Embodied carbon refers to the greenhouse gases released throughout the supply chain of a material, including during the extraction of raw materials, as well as the processing, transportation and construction stages. This embodied carbon accounts for up to 50% of a building’s whole-life carbon emissions.

The building materials that have the greatest carbon footprint are concrete and steel. As such, these have become a target for innovators looking to reduce the embodied carbon of new buildings. This can be achieved by reducing the amount of concrete and steel used, through finding sustainable alternatives.

Using construction blocks made of plant-based materials, such as hemp, to reduce the amount of concrete and steel, is widely understood. Hemp can be quickly and sustainably cultivated, and absorbs carbon as it grows, making these construction blocks well suited for improving a building’s thermal insulation in a sustainable manner. However, these hemp construction blocks are not suitable for use in new builds or retrofits to existing buildings.

UK-based Ecor Ltd, has recently been granted a UK patent (GB2614538B) for an innovative construction block made from plant-based materials. Designed for use when building a wall or layer of a new build or retrofit, the blocks are made from plant-based materials, such as hemp, wood or other crops. The plant-based material may be a plant-composite material, including a plant-derived material and a binder. The material is intertwined laterally and vertically to form blocks that can be used to form a fully interlocked wall structure.

The construction blocks can engage in an interlocking manner to form an outer layer or wall. This enables the layer or wall to be retrofitted to an existing building, for example as an external wall insulation system.

The interlocking features of the plant-based construction blocks can also interlock with load-bearing construction blocks, for example concrete or polymer blocks, to form a wall for a new build property. The interlocking feature therefore increases the versatility of the constructions blocks for use as insulation systems or as part of load-bearing walls.

After first filing for patent protection in the UK, Ecor Ltd filed an international (PCT) application at the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) one year later. This PCT application gives them an opportunity to protect their innovative building block around the world, which could help them commercialise their invention in many of the world’s biggest markets.

Mark Sugden, partner and patent attorney in the Advanced Engineering group at European intellectual property firm, Withers & Rogers.

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