Sugarcrete
Sugarcrete
About Sugarcrete®
Sugarcrete® provides a low-carbon alternative to bricks and concrete blockwork developed by the University of East London (UEL). The material combines sugarcane fibres left over after sugar production, with sand-mineral binders to produce bricks that have a carbon footprint six times smaller than traditionally made clay bricks.
This low-carbon material is just a part of the project's ambitions. The project seeks to offer different viable, sustainable, and safe construction solutions, using bio-waste as the core resource, to enhance community wellbeing and security.
The project has been developed as a collaboration between the UEL MArch Architecture programme and the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) with the support of Tate & Lyle Sugars and Chemical Systems Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Project details
The aim of the project is to develop ultra-low carbon building components using sugarcane bio-waste (bagasse), allowing the storage of biogenic carbon from fast-growing plants in construction materials as an effective strategy to delay carbon emissions.
Sugarcane is the world's largest crop by production volume. The processing of sugarcane to produce sugar generates enough raw material to partially replace high energy-demanding construction systems such as concrete or brick. Sugarcane growth provides one of the fastest CO2-to-biomass conversion mediums available, up to 50 times more efficient than forestry.
Research developed at UEL demonstrates how this residue stream can provide a sustainable construction material. The new Sugarcrete® material, prototyped using the Sustainability Research Institute’s advanced laboratory, presents high-quality mechanical, acoustic, fire and thermal properties, and has been tested to industry standards for fire resistance (ISO 1716:2021), compressive strength (ASTM C39), thermal conductivity (Hot-Box method) and durability (BS EN 927-6). The testing has shown promising results for Sugarcrete® to be used as insulation panels, lightweight blocks, load-bearing blockwork and structural floor and roof slabs.
Sugarcrete® research will benefit local manufacturers in the global south where construction materials are frequently imported, environmentally poor performing, high cost and high carbon minimises transportation costs. Local producers can make radically new, affordable and ultra-low carbon ‘vernacular’ building materials that can create new income streams via export to the global North.
As such, Sugarcrete® is not patented. It is purposely ‘open access’ in order to establish partnerships to produce new bio-waste-based construction materials where sugar cane is grown, and the benefit is greatest.
Sugarcane waste to be used as low carbon alternative to concrete
View the project in action
Project highlights
Team
Sugarcrete® Project Lead
- Armor Gutierrez Rivas, UEL Senior Lecturer in Architecture
- Alan Chandler, UEL SRI Co-Director
- Bamdad Ayati, UEL SRI Senior Research Fellow
Sugarcrete® Project Collaborators
- Oluchukwu Okonkwo, Sugarcrete PhD student and researcher
- John Kerr, Vice President, Research & Technology, Tate & Lyle Sugars
- Nicolo Bencini - Senior Structural Engineer, AKTII
- Paul Nichols – UEL FabLab Manager
UEL Master of Architecture Students Team:
Faith Omowunmi Ogundare, Busra Ciftci, Amy Gillespie, Hinal Arvindkumar Patel, Rova Taha, Dodangodagamage Kawan Roger Ranasinghe, Manoj Sai Ganji, Mohan Ukabhai Dungrani, Anca-Madalina Borda, Alina Klimenteva, Rashmi Madagamage Gunathilaka, Orseer Isreal Gbashah, Mahmoud Sayed Abdellattif, Mert Manas Erten, Hidayati Yazmin Binti Abdul Halim, Oluchukwu Judith Obiejesi, Svetoslav Georgie Slav, Mihriban Ustun, Sinan Aldulaymi, Francesco Stefan, Cristian Severin, Shushant Jadhav, Twinkle Shah, Jason Tshibangu, Dhanuj Basavenahlli Govinda Gowda, Megan Jones, Alina Obreja, Gideon Olufemi Oluwole-Wise, Nauma Patel, Hinal Arvindkumar Patel, Nishant Bharatbhai Thakkar, Sharanya Rajashekhar, Elsa Lea Sebille, Sumaya Sheikh-Ali, Joshua Vediena.
Photography
Chromaphotography
Videography
Jude Adoasi
Awards and nominations
- Design Intelligence Awards: Honourable Mention 2024
- Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year award: Times Higher Education: Winner 2024
- Sugarcrete® - Material District
- Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network Awards: Winner for the Double Gold Responsible Innovation Award 2024 (Oluchukwu Okonkwo)
- Times Higher Education Awards: Shortlisted, Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year 2024
- Green Gown Awards UK and Ireland: Finalist for the Research with impact category 2024
- Built by Nature Prize: Winner 2024
- EU Worth Partnership: Winner 2024
- Earthshot Prize: Longlisted under the category of building a waste-free world 2024
- UEL Public and Community Engagement Student Awards: Winner 2023
Sugarcrete® in the news
- UK researchers use sugar cane from Spain's Granada province to produce eco-friendly bricks - Sur in English, January 2025
- Residues that build: A school in India made from sugarcane bagasse - ArchDaily, January 2025
- UK-developed Sugarcrete used to build Indian school - The Engineer, January 2025
- Sugarcrete® builds a sustainable school and future in India - January 2025
- Sugar cane waste becomes house bricks - ABC News, November 2024
- Sugarcrete® is an innovative and sustainable alternative to traditional bricks - ACE Update, November 2024
- Introducing the sweet solution to sustainable construction - Womanthology, November 2024
- Sugarcrete® secures European Commission funding - June 2024
- Meet the team behind Sugarcrete - Study UK, June 2024
- Sugarcrete: new material for construction with sugarcane base - Redac Mag, June 2024
Technical reports
UEL Burning Man CW Report
pdf, 11.01 MB
UEL Built by Bagasse Report – October 2024
pdf, 69.91 MB
UEL Over the Tracks 02 Report – October 2024
pdf, 117.75 MB
Over the Tracks Report - November 2023
pdf, 75.36 MB
UEL Sugarcrete Slab Report - November 2022
pdf, 9.14 MB
UEL Sugarcrete Report - October 2021
pdf, 8.9 MB