Blog Posts
We’re excited to announce a new partnership with DoD’s Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) to further demonstrate and validate ARPA-E derived technologies at DoD installations across the country. ESTCP targets DoD’s urgent environmental and installation energy needs to improve Defense readiness, resilience and costs. Projects under this partnership will conduct demonstrations to validate the performance and operational costs of promising ARPA-E technologies and provide valuable data needed for end-user acceptance and to accelerate the transition of these technologies to commercial use.
Slick Sheet: Project
Texas A&M will develop resilient net-carbon-negative building designs for residential and commercial applications via large-scale 3D printing with hempcrete, a lightweight material made of the hemp plant’s woody core mixed with a lime-based binder. Construction 3D printing can significantly lower production costs, construction times, and environmental impacts from reduced construction waste. Hempcrete can provide structures that are more resilient to natural hazards compared with commonly used, light-weight, woodframing construction.
Slick Sheet: Project
The University of Pennsylvania will design a carbon-negative medium-size building structure by (1) developing a high-performance, prefabricated, funicular floor structural system with minimized mass and maximized surface area for carbon absorption; (2) using a novel carbon-absorbing concrete mixture as building material; (3) 3D printing the parts with a novel concrete mixture and additional bio-based carbon-storing materials. This technology complements mass-timber-based approaches via carbon-negative building design and 3D printing.
Slick Sheet: Project
The Washington State University (WSU) team, including Washington State University and Green Canopy NODE, will develop an innovative design process and modular building system to construct a single-family home that is carbon-negative cradle-to-grave. The team will design the Circular Home primarily of biogenic materials, in a manner that will create zero operational carbon, and design it for easy disassembly and reassembly for reuse and minimal waste generation.
Slick Sheet: Project
Northeastern University will lead a multi-institutional team to demonstrate the potential widespread deployment of carbon-negative multi-story buildings through the construction of steel-framed buildings with cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor and wall diaphragms. Diaphragms are structural elements that transmit lateral loads to the vertical resisting elements. The project will encompass the proper design for deconstruction and reuse of these structural elements. CLT diaphragms can store up to 50% of their weight in biogenic carbon.
Slick Sheet: Project
BamCore aims to transition its bamboo/wood hybrid (40%/60%) dual panel hollow wall system to 90+% bamboo content to develop a prefabricated, building code-compliant vertical framing wall system for constructing carbon-negative low- and mid-rise buildings. Bamboo produces structural fiber five-to-six times faster than wood. The team will also develop stand-alone biogenic insulation and fire-retardant layers to replace fiberglass and gypsum board as well as end-of-life (EOL) strategies for deconstruction to preserve panel integrity and/or alternative use.
Slick Sheet: Project
The University at Buffalo will design and additively manufacture modular interlocking superinsulation panel materials using a patented combination of biogenic cellulose (or straw) and superinsulation silica aerogel. Unlike sourcing raw biogenic material, the scalable cellulose/straw/silica aerogel material can enable highthroughput continuous manufacturing of panels at ambient conditions. The panels will provide high thermal insulation, structural durability, moisture and fire resistance, soundproofing, and easy installation at a low cost.
Slick Sheet: Project
Clemson University will develop a 100% wood mass timber floor system for buildings. Mass timber products are comprised of thick, compressed layers of wood and used to create strong, structural load-bearing elements. Carbon stored in the timber floor (and taken out of the atmosphere) will offset carbon emitted during production and construction of other building materials. Team members will build and test full-scale components and specimens to evaluate structural safety and performance, acoustic performance, and viability of de/re/construction (d/r/c). U.S.
Slick Sheet: Project
Oregon State University will develop C3, a cellulose cement composite, for use in residential and light commercial construction as an alternative to dimensional lumber and sheet products. The team will create C3 from small-diameter logs unsuitable for lumber production. Their removal from the forest as a potential fuel source can help lessen wildfires. The C3 material is net-carbon-negative and absorbs additional atmospheric CO2. C3 materials resist rot and fungal growth, fire, and heat transfer.
Slick Sheet: Project
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will develop cost-effective, bio-based insulation by fabricating net CO2-negative cellulose-mycelium composites. The NREL team will combine foamed cellulose with mycelium, the root network of fungi, to create a new class of high-performing, carbon-capturing and storing foams and composites.