Scottish startup Kenoteq has launched the K-Briq – a more sustainable building brick that is unfired and made of 90% construction waste. Developed by engineering professor Gabriela Medero at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, the K-Briq generates less than a tenth of the carbon emissions during manufacturing compared to a standard brick.
The Brazilian engineer spent over 10 years developing the product at the Scottish university, driven by a desire to reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry. “I spent many years researching building materials and became concerned that modern construction techniques exploit raw materials without considering that they are among the largest contributors to carbon emissions,” she said. “The amount of waste they produce is not sustainable in the long term.”
With the support of her university, Medero joined forces with fellow engineer Sam Chapman to found Kenoteq, aiming to bring the bricks to commercial production. According to Medero, the K-Briq looks like a normal brick, weighs the same, and behaves like a clay brick, but offers better insulation properties. The company says they can produce them in any color.
In addition to saving energy in the manufacturing process, Kenoteq reduces emissions by producing the bricks locally. The company is producing its bricks at a recycling center in Edinburgh, considerably minimizing the amount of transportation required in the process.
“The construction industry faces a tremendous challenge in meeting decarbonization targets. The industry sends over 800 million tons of waste to landfills in Europe every year, at an enormous cost to itself and the environment. In the UK, construction and the built environment account for approximately 50% of all waste generated in Scotland,” Sam Chapman, managing director of Kenoteq, told Scottish Construction Now.
The company was selected to receive funding from the Zero Waste Scotland Investment Fund, designed to stimulate circular economy initiatives in Europe. Kenoteq has also received several awards for the development of the innovative product. According to the startup, the K-Briq is undergoing final certification and will reach commercialization in the UK by the end of 2022.
Via CicloVivo.
This article was written by CicloVivo. The translation is powered by AI.
