Pilot line commissioned for low-carbon plasterboard

Adaptavate – a low carbon solutions manufacturer based in Bristol – has announced the successful build and commissioning of what the team are calling “the world’s first pilot line capable of producing Breathaboard in a continuous, integrated and scalable process.”

Breathaboard is a bio-based, carbon-sequestering alternative to plasterboard. It is produced, specified and installed in the same way but according to the manufacturer, saves approximately 4 kg of carbon dioxide per square metre over gypsum plasterboard.

Patented technology enables CO2 savings through product formulation and production processes. The company uses fibrous and cellulosic by-products from food and fibre crops and binds them with minerals and small amounts of water to form a flatboard material.

Unlike other board materials, the production process requires no natural gas and absorbs low concentration CO2, potentially from industrial emissions in the industrial curing process.

Jeff Ive, chief technical officer at Adaptavate, said: “From conception, we knew that for the technology platform to have the impact the planet requires, the solution needed to be scalable. Now that we see full size boards made on a continuously extruded process, with a comparable performance to the incumbent, we can see the vision becoming a reality.

“It’s a game changer for us, for our industry, and for the planet,” added Ive.

Unusual Rigging HQ is the first company to use the boards coming from the pilot line. “Adaptavate really is rethinking and redesigning the way building materials are produced, used and disposed of and their commitment to preserving our fragile ecosystem through innovative technology and manufacture aligns strongly with Unusual’s values,” said Tom Harper, managing director at Unusual.

Adaptavate is now working with the British Board of Agrément (BBA) and is on track to achieve the BBA Certificate for Breathaboard. The company’s next step will be to consolidate global partnerships to scale its technology with construction product manufacturers around the world.

Adaptavate’s pilot line project has been funded by two UK government grants (Innovate UK), and a group of climate-focused investors dedicated to accelerating carbon removal within the construction industry, such as Counteract, Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2, Perivoli Innovations and Semin Group.