Target reached!
Our bigger plans are to purchase a semi-automated 200 tonne hydraulic press. This wi...
DeakinBio - developing sustainable bio-based tiles
Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
Aim
The aim of our project is to raise £5k which will help us buy a 100 tonne hydraulic press and start scaling up our production!
Background
We are a team of scientists and artists who came together as part of an art-science collaboration in 2021. Our keen interest in biomaterials led us to an exciting discovery where we created three new materials: Fabalith, Cyalith and StarCrete.
StarCrete is a bio-based alternative to concrete that uses potato starch as a binder instead of cement. Cement production accounts for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, so StarCrete could be a much greener alternative. StarCrete is particularly promising for off-word construction applications.
Cyalith and Fabalith are bio-based alternatives to ceramic tiles. Fabalith uses a binder obtained from Aquafaba - the gross water most people throw way when opening a can of chickpeas. Cyalith uses a binder obtained from algae, which would be a by-product of 3rd generation biofuels production (non-impactful biofuels).
A 10 x 10 Fabalith tile reward
Cyalith tile + stand reward
AI image of Cyalith bespoke art piece
Why does this matter?
The ceramic tiles that decorate our kitchens and bathrooms have a huge carbon footprint owing to the energy-intensive firing steps needed to harden and glaze the materials. If the world is to meet future emissions reductions targets, we need to develop radical green alternatives to ceramics tiles and the energy-intensive processes that produce them.
Our tiles don’t need to be fired in a kiln, reducing the carbon footprint by about 80-90% compared to conventional ceramic tiles. Our technology uniquely combines plant-derived biopolymers with inorganic materials to produce bio-based composites (biocomposites) with structures and compositions similar to natural materials such as seashells, tooth enamel and pearl.
Sunny showcasing our tiles at our first trade show <3
At the moment we are still working with small-scale equipment, preparing each tile by hand. The money from this Crowdfunder will enable us to buy a 100 tonne hydraulic press, which will allow us to scale up our production and help us realise our dream of commercialising our sustainable alternative to ceramic tiles.
Our tiles are still handmade in our founder's cellar, kitchen and basement! Please help us to scale up and expand!
Photos from our initial scoping experiments :)
This project successfully funded on 15th April 2023