Product Development

Let’s Co-Create New Possibilities

Material Development

We develop end-to-end solutions for a circular economy

Along our own development history, we gained a lot of know-how and experience in generating solutions that drive the transition towards a circular economy for construction materials, products and services. Today, we offer our expertise as a service to form strategic partnerships and start research cooperations.

Our team covers all the needed disciplines from material science to process engineering and product development & prototyping to life cycle assessment and business model innovation.

Team Work makes the Dream work
Foundry sand being poured

Our Fields of Expertise

  • Waste Valorization Pioneering the integration of industrial by-products to produce low-carbon concrete.
  • Versatile Material Expertise Working with a diverse array of pozzolanic materials, incl. slags, ashes, clays, agricultural wastes, and industrial by-products.
  • Concrete Performance Optimization Emphasizing on fresh state properties and mechanical strength.
  • Admixture Impact Analysis Improving workability and rheology in concrete.
  • Tailored Mix Design Formulations Meeting specific project requirements.

Our current Research Focus

Low carbon concrete such as Geopolymers synthesised from inorganic polymers sourced from natural minerals and industrial by-products, delivering products that exceed industry standards while contributing to a more sustainable future.
Our R&D team focuses on developing the Geopolymer of tomorrow that is based on materials such as:

Calcined Clays
Electric arc furnace slag
Copper slag  
Incorporation of Biochar as a carbon sink
Geopolymer Concrete Test Body and Specimen

Feasibility Studies

Our expertise across the value chain of construction, materials, products and manufacturing processes, allows us to tackle today’s challenges holistically.

We want to share this expertise and offer our know-how as a service. Please get in touch with us if you want to investigate whether your unused side streams or secondary raw materials can be used in future-ready concretes.

Get in Touch

Product Development

Circular Product Design

Circular design principles are based on the idea of creating products that can be reused, repaired, remanufactured, or recycled, instead of being discarded or incinerated. The aim is to preserve the value and quality of materials, components, and products, and to reduce waste and emissions.

circular product design for disassembly and reuse
life-cycle thinking team work

Life-Cycle Thinking

Life cycle thinking is a method of assessing the environmental and social impacts of a product from its extraction of raw materials, to its manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal. By applying life cycle thinking, you can identify the hotspots and opportunities for improvement in each stage of the product's life. You can also compare different design options and choose the one that minimizes the negative impacts and maximizes the positive ones.

Our latest Product Launch SEMBLA

In August 2023 we launched the latest generation of our own product: the first fully circular masonry system made of geopolymer concrete. It embodies all aspects of our philosophy to achieve a regenerative and circular future for the construction industry. It is available in Germany now and we will be ready to internationalize the distribution in Q3 / Q4 2024.

We called it SEMBLA, assembly made circular. Feel free to check out our product website.

www.sembla.de

SEMBLA circular masonry wall - first prototype
Co-Creation Process

Our Approach
Co-create Something New

1. Kick-off workshop for input
2. Elaborate requirements (Specification book)
3. Assessment of the feasibility
4. Check and possibly apply for funding
5. Define parameters for funding
6A. Conceptualize a new solution
6B. Explore existing and proven solutions
7. Manufacture, test and present the product

Research Partnerships

We team up with research institutes, universities, companies and our own established network of experts to push forward the acceleration towards a circular economy. From material analysis to product development and production technologies - from lab to industrial scale, we offer our expertise and experience.

Get in touch

Are you interested in a cooperation or our expertise?
Get in touch with us.

Get in Touch Contact Form

Philipp Scherer, Head of Sustainability

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