SUMMARY VOLUME 6 2024
KVK INNOVATION TOP 100 2024
SENSITIVE CERAMICS
BETONPRIJS (CONCRETE AWARD) 2024
DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2024
LIVING IN A WIND TURBINE
Innovative Materials Summary volume 6 2024
This is a summary of the most recent edition of Innovative Materials. Would you like to read the entire articles? You will find more information about subscriptions HERE.
Innovative Materials is an interactive, digital magazine about new and/or innovative applied materials in civil engineering sector, construction, architecture and design.
Plant pots made from invasive water hyacinth
In collaboration with Fiber Engineering GmbH, the Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung (DITF) has developed a process for manufacturing biodegradable flower pots. These pots are affordable, biodegradable, and crafted from fibres derived from the invasive water hyacinth. According to DITF, this offers an economically viable method to combat an invasive species.
‘Thermal
batteries from refractory bricks to decarbonise heavy industry’
Whether it’s cement, steel, chemicals or paper production, a large amount of heat is needed, often by burning fossil fuels. Daniel Stack’s startup Electrified Thermal Solutions, a spin-off from MIT, developed a thermal battery in the form of ceramic refractory bricks that store and release heat.
Greener with graphite: Turning plant waste into high-tech material
Researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago have developed a new method to produce graphite from charred plant material. Their method, created in collaboration with scientists from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was published in late October in the journal Nano Micro Small.
New catalyst converts greenhouse gas methane into polymer
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a novel catalyst capable of converting methane into useful polymers, offering a potential solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Nominees InfraTech Innovation Award highlight material innovations
On November 26, the nominees for the InfraTech Innovation Award 2025 were announced. The jury selected nine projects from nearly 50 submissions, divided into three categories: Product Innovations, Process Innovations, and Sustainable Collaboration. According to the InfraTech organization, these entries stood out for their innovative approaches to sustainability, efficiency, and collaboration in the infrastructure sector. Notably, many projects focused on material innovations.
Cement production without CO2 emissions
The current, conventional method of producing cement has a large CO2 footprint: for every kilogram of cement produced, nearly the same amount of carbon dioxide is emitted. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a method that can virtually eliminate the carbon dioxide released during cement production. Carbon dioxide accounts for approximately eight percent of global CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.
Recycling carbon fibre composite into reusable materials
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a new process for upcycling composite materials, such as those used in car panels and light rail vehicles. The study was recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
A rigid material that blocks vibrations and noise
Vibrations can cause damage. That is why there is a worldwide need for materials that are stiff and load-bearing, but can also dampen vibrations. And that is not easy, because the properties are usually mutually exclusive. Materials researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a material that combines these ‘incompatible’ properties.
Soap can be more sustainable: made from sugar beet pulp
Chemist Laura Jansen from Radboud University has succeeded in making effective soap from sugar beet pulp, a byproduct of sugar beet processing. This could offer a sustainable alternative to conventional soaps. Laura Jansen completed her doctoral research on this topic.
KVK Innovation Top 100 2024
On Saturday, November 16, in Rotterdam Ahoy, the winners of the KVK Innovation Top 100 were announced by a professional jury. This year, entrepreneurs could register under one of five categories: Circular Economy, Energy Transition, Labor Market & Society, Health & Care, and Food, Water & Infrastructure.
Sensitive ceramics
Robots that can sense touch and detect temperature differences? An unexpected material could soon make this a reality. Researchers at Empa’s Laboratory for High-Performance Ceramics are developing soft, intelligent sensor materials based on ceramic particles.
Betonprijs (Concrete Award) 2024
The winners of the Dutch Beton Award 2024 were announced during the Beton Event held on Thursday, November 21, at the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam. The awards featured six categories: Existing Construction, Civil Engineering, Sustainable Construction, Groundbreaking Construction, Utility Construction, and Residential Construction.
Carpet fibres strengthen concrete and reduce carpet waste
Researchers from Australia’s RMIT University have developed a method to enhance the strength and crack resistance of concrete by incorporating carpet fibres. This approach can help lower the annual cost of repairing cracks in reinforced concrete structures in Australia, which amounts to approximately A$8 billion (€4.9 billion).
Dutch Design Week 2024
Every year in October, the Dutch Design Week (DDW) takes place in Eindhoven. The largest design event in Northern Europe presented the work of designers from 19 to 27 October 2024, spread across more than a hundred locations in the city. A selection of the materials on offer.
Living in a wind turbine
Vattenfall and design studio Superuse converted a nacelle, the top part of a wind turbine, into a tiny house. This nacelle is four metres wide, ten metres long and three metres high and comes from a turbine that stood in Austria for 20 years. With the tiny house, Vattenfall demonstrates how materials can be reused in innovative ways. The tiny house were on prominent display during Dutch Design Week from 19 to 27 October.
BAU 2025 13 - 17 January 2025, Munich
InfraTech 2025 13 - 17 January 2025, Rotterdam
Bouwbeurs 2025 5 - 7 February 2025, Utrecht
Batibouw 2025 15 - 23 February 2025, Brussels
Maintenance Dortmund 2025 19 - 20 February 2025, Dortmund
Cevisma 2025 24 - 28 February 2025, Valencia
JEC World 2024a 4 - 6 March 2025, Paris
Beton Tage 2025 11 - 13 March 2025, Ulm
Innoteq 2025 11 - 14 March 2025, Bern
Cellulose Fibres Conference 2025 12 - 13 March 2025, Cologne
MaterialDistrict Utrecht 2024 12 - 14 March 2025, Utrecht
Silicone Expo Europe 2024 19 - 20 March 2025, Amsterdam
Fastener fair global 2025 25 - 27 March 2025, Stuttgart
CO2-based Fuels and Chemicals Conference 2025 29 - 30 April 2025, Cologne
Architect@work Belgium 11 - 12 May 2025 Kortrijk
De Nederlandse Metaal Dagen 21 - 23 May 2025, ‘s-Hertogenbosch
ECerC 2025 31 August - 4 September 2025, Dresden
AM Expo 16 - 17 September 2025, Luzern
Renewable Materials Conference 22 - 24 September 2025, Cologne
PARTEC 23 - 25 September 2025, Nuremberg
Solids Rotterdam 1 - 2 October 2025, Rotterdam
K Messe 2025 8 - 15 October 2025, Düsseldorf
Holz 14 - 18 October 2025, Basel
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