ENERGY POTENTIAL

ENERGY POTENTIAL

“What UHCS has developed is one of the possible complements to The SeaCleaners’ Manta

project. Using oceanic waste to make houses out of it is great !”

Yvan Bourgnon, navigator
0
million tons
of plastic
0 %
increase
in market needs
1900
first PEF production plant
from sugar beet and
maize residues

The future of plastic, from PET to PEF:

In 2018, 348 million tonnes of plastic were produced across the world, an increase of 10 million tonnes on the 2017 figure. Industrial infrastructures built in recent years anticipate 40% growth of the needs and markets.

The international scientific community is mobilised to conduct research into more biodegradable polymers obtained from agricultural waste materials or seaweed, but the most optimistic production capacity forecasts suggest that this will represent just 6% of today’s global production.

A realistic solution available today to replace some PET is PEF, a polyethylene furanoate compound which is a similar polymer but obtained from fructose and produced using sugar beet and maize residues. The first production plant is planned between Antwerp and Rotterdam in 2022.

Like other polymers, recycled PEF can also be used for the UHCS system especially as, being harder and stronger than PET, it will achieve the same qualities with less material. That will be another economic benefit.

The energy potential of our houses

INNOVATIVE

A modular construction system which resembles a building block game. A set of beams and walls made of recycled PET filled with earth to provide insulation.

SUSTAINABLE

The use of plastic waste gives this material a second life. Its recycling holds out the promise of a healthier world, saves the oceans and enables buildings that are themselves recyclable to be put up.

ECONOMIC

The calculation is very simple. Taking the average price per tonne of recycled PET, the cost of extruding the raw material, the architect’s fees and the cost of building the house itself, a module of 36 square metres costs around 12,000 francs. Generally self-sufficient in energy thanks to the use of solar panels, each house can sell on its surplus electricity production.

ECOLOGICAL

The evident valorisation of PET and other plastic materials makes the system inherently ecological. We do not throw away or destroy: we transform. What is more, after around 80 years, each dwelling that has come to the end of its useful life can be recycled again or destroyed with a minimum impact on nature.

Contact

GET YOUR HOME

UHCS constructions are universal. Single or semi-detached houses – with all the certifications of the best European standards (SIA certifications for Switzerland and ISO for the world).

BECOME AN AGREED UHCS PARTNER

Authorized partners from around the world produce the basic material under license, deliver it, and let the architects take care of it in the right forms of the final object. If you want to become one of these partners, contact us.