Periodic Reporting for period 1 - 3Dgeocarbon (Carbon negative concrete 3D printing)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2024-10-01 al 2025-09-30
Concrete accounts for 8% of global CO2 emissions. Industry players are under pressure to meet the net zero CO2 emission target by 2050 and seek all possibilities to reduce their CO2 emissions. In light that the industry is shifting towards prefabricated elements, that can be made by 3D concrete printing, however, 3D printing today has significant limitations. Hyperion offers a breakthrough technology that will revolutionize the concrete 3D printing industry. The solution solves all the bottlenecks of the industry by providing: a green, carbon negative 3D printable concrete that is code compliant, a robotic printing head that monitors the printing prices and a new design methodology that shortens design time and ensures printability. Overall, Hyperion’s technology can reduce the CO2 emissions of concrete element production by 100%, offering it at 50% of the today’s cost of 3D printable concretes (that are more carbon intensive than conventional concretes today).
WP 01: 3Dgeocarbon material recipe
Task 1.1: 3Dgeocarbon mix recipe final development (60%):
- Changes to initial plan: Switched mining tailing to crushed rock sand. Started using biochar as a filler (fine aggregate) first and part of precursor (binder) in October 2025. Using CEM-I at 5% to ensure nominal compliance with EN206 for simplified commercialisation.
- Biochar supply chain: Established requirements for biochar (carbon capture, price per ton, chemical composition, moisture, particle size). Contacted 47 potential suppliers in EU. Received 6 samples (3 sewage stock, 2 wood stock, Reed canary grass). Received 3 larger samples for print testing (digest biogas and wood stock). Finalised the list of potential suppliers: Puhi (Finland), Carbuna (Germany), both are wood feedstock and reed canary grass biochar with controlled pyrolysis at Puhi.
- Recipe development: Defined material performance requirements: General, Printability, Mechanical, Durability, Logistics, Curing. Developed gradation design. Designed 221 mixes in lab. 153 of them -> compressive testing in our lab. Developed 5 recipes in lab for print testing (4 different biochars).
Task 1.2: Material testing (40%):
- Mechanical and durability testing: Planned tests in accredited labs (Eurofins, Kymi labs, Sheffield University, VTT). Drying shrinkage strain (in our lab). Currently waiting to finalize the biochar and recipe so that can proceed to external testing.
WP 04: Micro-factory hardware and automation development
Task 4.1 Admixture pilot scale production
Tasks completed:
- Identity requirements
- Identify suppliers
- Contact suppliers
- Requirement refinement together with subcontractors
- Request for quotations from suppliers (3 nos.)
Task 4.2 3D printing head improvement
- Planned, procured, designed, and built working prototype of the system (partial installation due to space constraints)
WP 05 Software improvements
Task 5.1 Software improvements (35%)
- Detailed planning, design and procurement ongoing
- Experimenting with user facing applications: standalone and web-based
Task 1.1: 3Dgeocarbon mix recipe final development (60%):
- Changes to initial plan: Switched mining tailing to crushed rock sand. Started using biochar as a filler (fine aggregate) first and part of precursor (binder) in October 2025. Using CEM-I at 5% to ensure nominal compliance with EN206 for simplified commercialisation.
- Biochar supply chain: Established requirements for biochar (carbon capture, price per ton, chemical composition, moisture, particle size). Contacted 47 potential suppliers in EU. Received 6 samples (3 sewage stock, 2 wood stock, Reed canary grass). Received 3 larger samples for print testing (digest biogas and wood stock). Finalised the list of potential suppliers: Puhi (Finland), Carbuna (Germany), both are wood feedstock and reed canary grass biochar with controlled pyrolysis at Puhi.
- Recipe development: Defined material performance requirements: General, Printability, Mechanical, Durability, Logistics, Curing. Developed gradation design. Designed 221 mixes in lab. 153 of them -> compressive testing in our lab. Developed 5 recipes in lab for print testing (4 different biochars).
Task 1.2: Material testing (40%):
- Mechanical and durability testing: Planned tests in accredited labs (Eurofins, Kymi labs, Sheffield University, VTT). Drying shrinkage strain (in our lab). Currently waiting to finalize the biochar and recipe so that can proceed to external testing.
WP 04: Micro-factory hardware and automation development
Task 4.1 Admixture pilot scale production
Tasks completed:
- Identity requirements
- Identify suppliers
- Contact suppliers
- Requirement refinement together with subcontractors
- Request for quotations from suppliers (3 nos.)
Task 4.2 3D printing head improvement
- Planned, procured, designed, and built working prototype of the system (partial installation due to space constraints)
WP 05 Software improvements
Task 5.1 Software improvements (35%)
- Detailed planning, design and procurement ongoing
- Experimenting with user facing applications: standalone and web-based