The Circwaste forerunner municipality of Lappeenranta, Lappeenranta University of Technology and their partners have received major funding from the EU to develop a building material to replace concrete as well as a new urban image.
This is a three-year project that involves developing a new composite material from the side streams of the forest and mining industries. The side streams being used are ash, green liquor dregs, tailings, and construction and fibre waste. The target is to produce long-lasting and recyclable products from the new composite material.
The total costs of the Urban infra revolution project are 4.2 million euros, with 80% – 3.4 million euros – coming from the ERDF’s Urban Innovation Action (UIA) programme. The rest of the funding will be provided by the organisations participating in the project.
“In addition to technology solutions, we will be researching the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and new business models. During the project, we will also develop 3D printing of new material in on-site building,” explains Mari Kallioinen, Director of LUT’s RE-SOURCE research platform.
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