"In fact, some, like environmental engineer and University of Virginia professor Andres Clarens, see materials' potential negative impact as so existential that he calls them the " last major frontier " in the fight against climate change. If that's the case, we need to reduce the emissions associated with commonly used building materials like cement and steel-and we need to develop alternative materials that emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions by default."
"Earlier this year, researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology invented a bio-inspired building material that is both lightweight and resilient under pressure, which could help reduce the use of steel and concrete. The key to their innovation? A little creature that lives thousands of meters deep in the ocean. The deep-sea sponge's lattice-like skeleton, which has been optimized over millions of years, can absorb force while maintaining its strength."
Construction materials produce nearly one-third of global CO2 emissions, and rising construction demand has tripled over 25 years. Reducing emissions from cement and steel and developing inherently lower-emission alternative materials are urgent priorities. Material designers produced several promising new materials this year, some market-ready and others still in testing. One innovation replicates a deep-sea sponge’s lattice-like skeleton to create a lightweight, pressure-resilient material that could allow thinner load-bearing walls and slimmer columns, thereby reducing steel and concrete use. Another line of work aims to create ultra-strong engineered wood that can compete with steel.
Read at Fast Company
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