The consortium is composed of academic research laboratories, consultancies, industry stakeholders and construction professional associations. The partners include: 

• Nomadéis
• Veolia Propreté Nord Normandie
• University of Bath
• Ecole Supérieure d’Ingénieurs des Travaux de la Construction de Caen
• Construction 21
• Institut Polytechnique LaSalle Beauvais – Esitpa
• University of Brighton
• Alliance for Sustainable Building Products

Over 27 months, the SB&WRC partners will work to design, produce and test three prototypes of innovative low-carbon thermal insulants made from bio-based and recycled materials. 

University of Brighton academics Duncan Baker-Brown, Nick Gant and Dr Ryan Woodard will source bio-based and textile waste material local to the Brighton area. Prototype insulation panels constructed with this material will be fixed to the Waste House situated on the university's Grand Parade campus. 

The European Union (ERDF) will fund 69% of the project budget, which amounts to 1,8 M€ overall. 

Context

The INTERREG VA France (Channel) England programme is a Cross Border European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) Programme, which aims at supporting the development of the France (Channel) England area, in line with the goals of the 2020 Europe strategy to create jobs and stir smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. 

In order to select and fund projects that can contribute to these goals, the Interreg VA France (Channel) England programme is structured around 3 priorities, which are themselves split into 5 specific objectives. 

The Sustainable Bio&Waste Resources for Construction (SB&WRC) project lies within Priority 2 and Specific Objective 2.1 on the development of low-carbon technologies. 

• Priority 2: Support the transition towards a low-carbon economy in the France (Channel) England Area;
  • Specific Objective 2.1: Increase the development and uptake of existing or new low-carbon technologies in sectors that have the highest potential for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

Within this framework, the SB&WRC project’s main objectives are: 

• At the scale of the France (Channel) England area, analyse a range of bio-based and waste resources that could be used to produce new insulating materials for buildings;
• Design and produce three prototypes of innovative low-carbon thermal insulants, that would fit the local building fabric, and using the resource flows and stocks documented;
• Test the three prototypes in laboratories and on pilot sites to assess their energy and environmental performances, as well as their cost;
• Foster their distribution on the market by disseminating the project’s results among French and British building sector professionals, and through awareness raising actions on the benefits of using bio-based and waste-based construction materials. To reach this objective, the project plans on organizing conferences in France and in England, conducting an online survey, and creating an online community focused on bio-based and waste-based construction materials.

Involvement of Nomadéis in the project 

As Leading Partner, Nomadéis oversees the coordination and the administrative and financial management of the project. 

Besides, Nomadéis will use its expertise in the fields of sustainable development, green industries and new economic models to contribute to the project at different stages, from the assessment of bio-based and waste resources stocks and flux, to the economic and environmental analysis of the prototypes.

The precise role of Nomadéis in the project is detailed below:

Project management:

• Daily coordination of the partnership;
• Administrative, financial and risk management;
• Organisation of strategic steering committees;
• Elaboration and drafting of half-yearly progress reports.

Communication: 

• Coordination of the organisation of the launching and closing events;
• Participation in the design, editing and deployment of communication tools;
• Translation from French to English of project contents produced by Nomadéis.

Definition and design of prototypes:

• Assessment of bio-based and waste-based resource flows and stocks in the France (Channel) England area;
• Participation in the legal analysis regarding waste valorisation activities;
• Analysis of building systems, built environment typology and proposition of innovative designs;
• Organisation of three partners – construction professionals workshops aimed at designing the prototypes.

Production, deployment and assessment of the prototypes:

• Support for the drafting of specifications;
• Support for the sourcing of raw materials and the identification of pilot sites;
• Support for the organisation of pilot site installation events to deploy the prototypes;
• Coordination of the economic analysis and participation in the environmental assessment of the prototypes.

Dissemination of project contents for information and awareness raising of professionals:

• Elaboration of a strategy for massification and market dissemination of the prototypes;
• Mobilisation and awareness raising of stakeholder networks for future product dissemination;
• Organisation of conferences aimed at disseminating the findings of the project for professionals;
• Dissemination of project contents on the web for professionals and the general public.

Additional resources

Background information about European territorial cooperation.