“ Until now , we have only been able to reduce emissions caused by materials by using less of them . Biomason ’ s technology can provide a crucial component to achieving carbon neutrality in our built environments , from stores to offices to production facilities .”
— Martin Ekenbark , project manager , H & M ’ s Circular Innovation Lab
PHOTO : PSL IMAGES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Dropbox ’ s San Francisco headquarters to a 1,550-square-foot research center in Denmark — the latter of which was completed in November 2021 and is Biomason ’ s largest installation to date .
For all these projects , the tiles were produced by Biomason at its facility in Raleigh , North Carolina , but , with sufficient evidence of their commercial viability and durability , Dosier decided it was time to begin scaling up operations in earnest .
In November 2021 , Biomason announced its first manufacturing partner : IBF , Denmark ’ s largest concrete producer , which will start production in the second half of 2022 with the goal of becoming Biomason ’ s primary factory for European orders .
“ Concrete products are heavy , so it doesn ’ t make sense for us to ship the world ’ s demand from one location ,” Dosier explains . “ We ’ ve had a lot of interest from potential manufacturing partners around the world , and our focus is very much on the development of transferable technology that we can license to allow manufacturers to create biocement themselves .”
In addition to manufacturing interest , the company also has at least one global client in international fashion retailer H & M Group , which announced its intention to start using Biomason ’ s product as a replacement for traditional concrete flooring across the company ’ s thousands of stores .
“ Until now , we have only been able to reduce emissions caused by materials by using less of them . That is simply not enough ,” explained Martin Ekenbark , project manager at H & M ’ s Circular Innovation Lab , in a press release . “ Biomason ’ s technology can provide a crucial component to achieving carbon neutrality in our built environments , from stores to offices to production facilities .”
Closer to home , Biomason has also been working with the U . S . Department of Defense to develop experimental self-repairing concrete . Designed for marine environments , this “ living cement ” contains microorganisms capable of drawing calcium and carbon from seawater in order to automatically repair damage to underwater structures .
The company ’ s primary focus remains on supporting the commercial manufacture of alternatives to portland cement , however , with an ambitious target of reducing the global CO 2 emissions for the entire cement industry by 25 % by 2030 .
The goal doesn ’ t stop there . As Michael Dosier points out , scientists have only studied around 0.0001 % of our planet ’ s vast bacterial diversity , and Biomason is constantly searching for new strains that might improve its process further .
“ Whenever we ’ ve had challenges before , we ’ ve solved them by looking deeper into biological processes ,” Ginger Krieg Dosier says . “ The planet has solved many of [ them ], and biology has a lot to suggest , if we just look closely .” ■
79