Problem addressed

• The world’s largest housing markets are informal, self-build markets powered by low-skill labour. However, traditional bricks and concrete require architectural and technical expertise, so are often constructed in an unsafe manner, with little disaster resilience. Single-skin uninsulated walls result in poor living conditions. Greenbricks slot together mechanically, and can be sealed using simple heat welding, meaning that build-quality is far more standardised. A house can be built in a number of hours, reducing labour costs, and insulation and thermal massing is integrated into the product.
• Many plastic streams and organic fibre streams lack an end-market, meaning that waste management systems are not economically viable, and enormous amount of waste is created. Greenbrick has worked with local recyclers to identify priority waste streams and have synthesised its composite our of them, creating an economic incentive to recycle these materials.
• Bricks, concrete, and cement are carbon-intensive, each tonne of Greenbricks saves just under 3 tonnes of CO2.

Overview of start-up

Greenbrick produce building materials from a reinforced-composite material made out of otherwise non-recyclable materials.

What makes the start-up innovative

Greenbrick has designed a new fibre-reinforced composite material and a new way for building materials to slot together. The production lines are designed to be deployed in emerging markets, and it is targeting its distribution system and product design to suit local market demands.

How the start-up has been designed to scale up quickly

The production line is designed using ready-made equipment using high-volume extrusion, and uses a hub-and-spoke model to replicate the production spaces quickly. The production lines have relatively low Capex (below £250,000), and Greenbrick’s central office will be optimised to set-up new workshops as efficiently as possible.