Market maturation of innovative Flexible modules for temporary sealing of construction Buildings

Project Information

FLEXBUILD

Grant agreement ID: 858617

DOI

10.3030/858617

Project closed

EC signature date 30 April 2019

Start date 1 May 2019

End date 31 December 2021

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 2 516 590,00

EU contribution

€ 1 761 613,00

Coordinated by

ALTIFLEX APS
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - FLEXBUILD (Market maturation of innovative Flexible modules for temporary sealing of construction Buildings)

Reporting period: 2021-02-01 to 2021-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

THE ISSUE:
Construction activities consume more raw materials by weight (up to 50%) and energy than any other industrial sector and are also responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions (about 40%) and waste stream (40% - 50%). The global construction industry is expected to grow 85% to €15.5Tr by 2030, meaning an increased societal, environmental and economic impact of construction activities. Current enclosure solutions (sealing off the building during the construction phase) are made with wood and plastic (polyethylene) film which form damp and mold rapidly, rip and break easily, does not retain heat (to comply with working legislation) and has limited reusability becoming an expensive solution with large generation of waste and no protection against theft. Therefore, there is a strong market opportunity for Altiflex to pursue with the market introduction of an innovative building component which will enable a paradigm change within this industry.

LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE FOR SOCIETY:
Greenhouse gas emissions as well as diesel particle emission are to be reduced dramatically over the coming years for the sake of human beings, wild life, the entire planet. Some of the much-needed solutions are not known to man-kind yet. However, some are. The Altiflex / Flexbuild solution reduces emissions because it reduces the use of wood and plastic - both products are burnt and destroyed after being used one time. This happens at thousands of construction sites globally… every day. At the same time, construction sites / concrete buildings must be heated during construction in order to avoid moisture, fungus, mold. Energy is consumed, often generated by diesel engines placed on site; engines that emit diesel particles in the local environment and greenhouse gases like all combustion engines. Altiflex / Flexbuild insulates and reduces the amount of heating needed to the benefit of the environment and to the benefit of the financial result of the construction company. Resources are saved.

OVERALL OBJECTIVES:
The Vision of Altiflex is for Flexbuild to be the preferred and obvious choice for enclosing buildings during the construction phase. Globally. This Vision means that we will end the burning of wood and plastics used for temporary enclosure. Thereby, greenhouse gas emissions and diesel particle emissions are being reduced drastically. At the same time, the effectiveness and financial viability of each construction project are strengthened. Projects are easier to complete on time when the local weather has less influence on progress.
The key driver of this development is partnerships with major construction companies, rental businesses and developers.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The M9 midterm report, Feb 2020.
In short, this report covers the period M1-M10 of a 20 month project.
During this first period, the project has finalized the refinement of the Flexbuild product. The product has been technically refined, tested, produced and been through qualification testing both post-assembly at the assembly site and in-situ / live testing at a construction site. The project has moved successfully through these activities, integrating new product features, utilizing production technologies new to the business, delivering a high-quality product that does the job. Production capacity has been ramped up at all necessary suppliers, full-scale production is ongoing, ensuring we are on schedule for demonstrations to test market acceptance.
In parallel, the markets have been in focus in order to build / maintain / expand relationships with critical partners who wish to contribute to the project because they see the benefits to their business, the benefits to their staff, to local society and the environment in general.

The M21 midterm report, Feb. 2021. This report covers M10-M21 of this 32-month project.
The Flexbuild initiative is generally moving ahead with the planned activities. The Flexbuild product has been fully developed, supply chain established, industrial production in the planned quantities and quality achieved, delivered for demo activities. Demos are moving slowly (compared to original plan in 2019) but follows the plan agreed in latest amendment. So, on track. The remaining part of the project (throught Dec. 2021) will focus on completion of the demos plus all remaining dissemination and documentation activities.

The final report after M32 is completed and uploaded. It - and the other deliverables - demonstrate how all targets have been achieved. This third period was focused primarily on completing the planned product demonstrations and dissemination.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The Flexbuild product is unique globally and a giant leap beyond the state of the art. The "state of the art", i.e. typical, approach to temporary enclosure of buildings during the construction phase is to use large sheets of plastic and wooden frames and/or plywood. The disadvantages of the old-fashioned approach are exactly what Flexbuild either eliminates or reduces significantly.
When the old-fashioned / traditional approach is used:
- You lose work days due to weather, delay projects, increase costs
- You burden the environment with CO2 emissions when burning the plastics (never re-used)
- You burden the environment with diesel particles, when diesel engines are used for heating of the building
- You waste energy for heating that could be used by society for other purposes
- You have a high risk seeing mold and fungus in the building due to moisture
- You create a poor working environment in the building for the construction team

In short, the traditional approach is a burden on the construction company, the developer, the work team, the environment, the local air quality, and the users of the building post-construction.

The flexible Flexbuild product significantly reduces or eliminates the issues above.



M21, Feb 2021. The environmental specialist company Viegand & Maagoe (viegandmaagoe.dk) who works for the EU, cities, authorities, businesses on environmental impact assessment, has November 2020 completed a life cycle analysis of the Flexbuild product compared to alternative solutions. The results are clear: The Flexbuild product reduces CO2 emissions by 49% (materials life cycle and use of heating (electricity, fuels/diesel, natural gas)). A 300 m2 temporary enclosure will reduce CO2 emissions by 8 tons (!!!) over a four-month period compared to alternatives. All in all the potential for CO2, particle and other emissions - not mention waste of heat - is enormous. The Viegand&Maagoe report is available on request.

The Flexbuild product has proven to deliver a significant contribution to the reduction of green house gases!

M32, Dec. 2021. Final conclusion: The Flexbuild product is a unique product that contributes to a significant decrease of CO2 emissions at construction sites. 49% of energy for heating is saved. This amounts to tonnes of CO2 per construction site.

Construction site pre-installation

Installed modules with EU-Horizon decal

Norwegian demo

Norwegian demo

Norwegian demo

Facade with modules - 2

Swedish demo

Swedish demo

Inside a construction site / building

Facade with modules

Swedish demo

Norwegian demo