NEW GLUE OPTION FOR ENGINEERED TIMBER

BindEthics, the sustainable glue company behind this innovation was founded by Maria Garcia, a chemist with an MSc in molecular design from the University of Amsterdam and Callum Smith a 21-yearold materials engineer from Esher who is completing an integrated Masters (MEng Material Science and Engineering) at the University of Birmingham.

BindEthics has received commercial, scale-up and lab-based support from the Biorenewables Development Centre in York under their European Regional Development Programme business assist scheme and Innovate UK. Additionally, it is receiving network access, business space and financial aid from the University of Birmingham and Innovate UK which help accelerate the innovation.

An innovative new adhesive, derived from purified and refined industrial bio-waste, should enable 90% of engineered wood products, including furniture and construction boards, to become fully recyclable and helping to develop a sustainable circular economy in this sector. The new adhesive, derived from extracted and purified waste is sustainable, non-toxic and possesses a step-change improvement in recyclability and circularity.

Donaldson Timber Systems Launch House Range

Leading UK offsite timber frame manufacturer, Donaldson Timber Systems (DTS), has launched the Donaldson Timber Systems House Range. The range of 18 core house types includes cottage flats with a mix of one and two bedrooms, semi-detached and detached twobed bungalows and a selection of detached, semi-detached, and terraced homes of two, three and four bedrooms.

Utilising DTS’ Sigma II closed panel timber frame system, the house range provides long-term energy efficiency; meets and exceeds Homes England’s minimum requirement for a premanufactured Value (PMV) of 55%

BindEthics has won the Armourers & Brasiers Venture Prize seed funding award. “Our glue is ethically sourced, has endof-life biodegradability and has properties suited to replacing traditional formaldehyde adhesives,” says Callum Smith. “As well as being fully recyclable the glue can be produced with almost no additional cost to the manufacturer and has a carbon footprint that is 86 percent lower than traditional adhesives.” using only the timber frame build system and allows the frames to be windproof and watertight on site in one day. The homes are also land-efficient, with the width of each floorplan reduced to ensure roads, footpaths and services are minimised, and a consistent depth of floorplan allows different house types to be simply built as terraced blocks.

In 2022 preliminary trials conducted at the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) in York were backed up by analytical experimental studies enabling the development of the first minimum viable product. BindEthics is currently working with one of the three largest engineered wood companies in the UK and one of the UK’s largest packaging companies for technical insight.

John Smith, Technical Director at DTS, said: “We are working closely with the wider housing sector to drive continued quality and performance standards, and our new house range provides both to the market. We conducted extensive research in the sector across the UK to understand the needs of residents, developers, planners, and all relevant regulations, and these house types provide homes that are designed to offer maximum flexibility while meeting all space standards in the most efficient way possible.

“Sustainability and efficiency are also key to the sector, both for speed of build and

“BindEthics is showing how research and innovation has the potential to improve the recyclability of modern furniture and construction panels,” said Julian Beare, Chairman of the Armourers and Brasiers Venture Prize judging panel. “Our prize looks to encourage scientific entrepreneurship in the UK and provide funding to help innovative developments like this realise their potential.”

“Our vision is that our new bio-adhesive derived from food waste will replace a range of adhesives used across industry,” said Callum Smith. “The initial focus is on replacing the formaldehyde-based glues used in the manufacture of engineered wood products, but we also envisage applications for our sustainable adhesive within the shoe and automotive industries.” www.armourershall.co.uk/venture-prize/ www.biorenewables.org/ longer-term performance for residents. Our timber frame system’s fabric-first approach comes with embodied carbon calculations and PMV assessment for each house type, to ensure sustainable, resilient, and affordable homes that efficiently meet the current build regulations and can be easily and simply updated to achieve the requirements of the Future Homes Standard.” www.donaldsontimbersystems.com

The house range is supported by a suite of architectural design information with Level 1 BIM models. DTS is also developing further supporting information, including SAP calcs, specifications, schedules and build costs for the full house range. Having this information in place will not only allow customers to reap the benefits of the efficiency of the house types, but vastly reduce the lead-times and up-front costs associated with developing a range of house types from scratch.