The challenges in the field of sustainability and the growing construction task require innovative solutions. Biobased construction is a promising development that not only contributes to a circular economy, but also offers opportunities for reducing CO2 emissions and improving the living environment. For TNO, biobased construction is an important spearhead, with significant investments in research and innovation to make optimal use of wood and biobased materials. In order to perform experiments even better, an expansion of the TNO Construction Laboratory is planned. Within this laboratory, work is being done on various innovations that will help the biobased construction sector move forward.
One of the developments is circular high-rise construction in wood. Although timber construction has been popular for some time, high-rise construction in wood remains a challenging area. TNO focuses on the possibilities of realising ground-based and stacked construction with circular or domestic wood. The focus is on the strength, lifespan and costs of these materials in comparison with conventional building materials.
In addition, the affordability of biobased materials is an important point of attention. Due to current regulations, wood is often oversized in load-bearing structures, which leads to unnecessary use of materials and higher costs. TNO performs strength calculations and tests to accurately determine the amount of material required to meet all strength requirements. This can not only reduce costs, but also makes biobased construction more accessible.
Biobased insulation also offers great opportunities in existing construction. While application in new construction has now been proven, existing construction still presents a challenge, particularly due to sensitivity to moisture. TNO is investigating the influence of moisture on the lifespan of biobased insulation materials by means of accelerated ageing tests. This will clarify how these materials behave and which innovations can contribute to a longer lifespan.
The potential of crops such as hemp, flax and straw for the production of biobased board material is also promising. Although there are already producers active, scaling up is necessary to meet the increasing demand. TNO is working on the development and testing of 0-series, which investigate how crops can be optimally used and which properties make them suitable for specific applications. Each crop has unique qualities and finding the right balance between production and profitability is crucial.
A major bottleneck in biobased construction is the current building regulations and standards, which were largely drawn up before innovative biobased materials were available. Although these regulations ensure safe and reliable buildings, they sometimes form an obstacle to the application of new materials. TNO is working on solutions such as CE marking and the development of methods to test biobased materials against existing standards. This opens the door to broader acceptance and application of biobased building innovations.
Finally, TNO focuses on load-bearing structures, which traditionally use a lot of steel and concrete. However, the future lies in biocomposites with biobased fibres and adhesives. These materials not only offer comparable construction properties, but are also many times more efficient in their use of raw materials. For example, a hectare of fibre crop yields considerably more material than a hectare of forest, which offers new opportunities for sustainable construction practices.
Source: TNO
