PORTEFEUILLE

Construction industry is using sand and gravels which are getting scarce around large cities as well as cement which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. 5 to 10 % of global CO2 emissions comes from cement, while gravel and sand weight 40% of all resources consumed by human activities. Furthermore, the resources scarcity and depletion increase the cost of the materials. Meanwhile before erecting buildings, a large amount of excavation material is removed to build foundations. This material is later landfilled but it is so abundant that it could directly replace the demand for sand, gravel and its composition is often close to earth which has been used as a vernacular construction material all over the world for centuries.
The technology proposed by Oxara is simply to process the excavation material as fast and as easily as we usually do with concrete but without adding cement and depleting resources. To do so, we developed mineral additives that transforms excavation material into sustainable concrete "Cleancrete". Although we reach a mechanical performance for low rise houses (2-3 storeys) or non-load bearing element in high rise building, our technology provides for the first time to excavated materials the processing advantage of concrete but it is cheaper and 90% more eco-friendly. In order to exploit the market potential estimated to €173 billion in Europe in 2016, we applied for a patent and engaged with early adopters for industrial demonstration.

We are now able to turn excavation construction waste into building materials. The implementation of our technology will provide to Swiss construction economy a competitive advantage in redefining the construction industry and will create new job opportunities. At global scale, re-using excavation materials with our additives reduce the use of cement responsible of 7% of global CO2 emission,
our technology could reduce concrete consumption by 10% and enable sustainable future cities but also enable access to sustainable and affordable housing.

Achivements during InnoBooster grant
- 12 team member are part of Oxara and the structure Advisory Board and Board of Directors has been setup.
- Oxara operates in three market segments: in building application with bricks, blocks, and concrete and in road or infrastructure application with liquid soil
- Oxara finalize the IP deal with ETH and has an exclusive license in using the technology.
- Implementation of cleancrete in projects like Kirche auf der Egg and with SBB achived
- Public media attention due to the sustainability and circularity of the products and targeted communication with future partners and customers.
- Partnerships with concrete materials producers and construction company,
- Oxara has generated +100 kCHF revenues in 2021 thank to projects realized and Cleancrete is expected to be used in a major architectural project in Meilen – Zürich in 2023.
- Oxara raised funds from EU grant and additional from Family office.