In Round Top, Texas, Eco Material Technologies and Hive 3D have partnered to develop a collection of 3D-printed homes using Eco Material’s near-zero carbon cement, PozzoCEM Vite. The collection of 400- to 900-square-foot studio to two-bedroom homes will be part of The Casitas @ The Halles community.
The Hive 3D homes will create sustainable, cost-efficient housing for future residents in the area. Working with technology partner CyBe Construction, Hive 3D has developed a mobile, small footprint construction printer and mixing system that can use Eco Material's unique low-cost sustainable cement replacement products at high speeds and quality.
"We are beyond excited to work with Eco Material Technologies, Starred Sky Development, and CyBe Construction on this new project," says Timothy Lankau, CEO of Hive 3D. "These small homes will serve as a model for affordable and eco-friendly housing throughout the country. We plan to build them at a speed and cost point that is unprecedented in the affordable housing space."
Prior to the debut of the new collection, Hive 3D successfully printed a 3,150-square-foot home using Eco Material's near-zero carbon cement, called PozzoSlag at lower replacement levels. Both PozzoCEM Vite and PozzoSlag have been proven to enhance the strength, impermeability, and durability of concrete with near-zero emissions, the company states. PozzoSlag replaces 50% of the Portland cement in concrete and has been used in roads and bridges in Texas for over a decade.
The PozzCEM Vite, used as part of the construction at The Casitas @ The Halles, is one of the next generations of Eco Material’s Green Cement products, which replace 100% of Portland cement in concrete and has 92% lower emissions. The advanced material also sets much faster than traditional Portland cement at two to three minutes in the formulation used by Hive 3D allowing rapid printing of sustainable homes.
Hive 3D and Eco Material have also worked together to create a system to mix Eco Material's cement replacement products with locally sourced aggregates on-site using modified commercial mixing equipment. The system allows Hive 3D to produce printable material at a fraction of the cost of other commercially available 3D-printing mortars subsequently building homes for significantly less than traditional means.
"Hive 3D's commitment to building the first 100% cement replacement 3D-printed homes align with our goal of transitioning the construction industry away from using materials that generate approximately 8% of the world's carbon emissions each year," says Grant Quasha, CEO of Eco Material Technologies. "While we are known as the largest supplier of sustainable cement alternatives for large-scale infrastructure projects, we are proud to be able to work with forward-thinking innovators like the team at Hive 3D to provide residential solutions as well. These homes are cost efficient, beautiful, and sustainable in many senses of the word."
