[MUSIC PLAYING]
EHAB SAYED: Hello, everyone.
Happy Environment Week.
I'm Ehab Sayed.
Tim just introduced me.
I'm the founder and director
of innovation at Biohm.
And today, I'd like to talk
about how nature can inspire
us to revolutionize
the built environment
and how we can work
towards a biometic future.
But first, I want you all
to sit back, relax, take
a deep breath, and I
want you to imagine
that you're an
omnipresent being capable
of experiencing, feeling,
and observing every event,
situation, and circumstance
that has taken place
over the last 60
years, and take it in.
What will your perception
be of humanity?
Would you see humans as a
transcendent species that
has rapidly evolved in the most
extraordinary way, overcoming
barriers to achieve advanced
levels of intelligence,
consciousness, and
civilization, or would you
see a foolish species willfully
ignorant of its impact
upon the world?
Would you see a collection of
beautiful and unique organisms
with limitless capacity
for compassion and empathy,
or would you see destructive
levels of arrogance and greed
in an animal that has
forced its own path
and forgotten its place
in the order of nature--
forgotten its connection with
the Earth and its inhabitants,
forgotten the whole that
we were only supposed
to be a very small part of?
Have we created
materials, processes,
methods of governance,
and systems
that are designed to deplete
our planet of its resources,
and will we really need another
two planets worth of resources
in 30 years time to
maintain the lives that we
have built and learned to love?
Have we really
exhausted over half
of the Earth's
precious resources
to create our global-built
environments which
only form around 1% of
the Earth's surface?
Whilst doing that, we also
contributed to over 50%
of all carbon emissions to build
1% of the Earth's surface--
really.
Would you see us as one hand
working towards a common goal,
or just individuals, scattered,
working towards personal gain
and wealth?
Would you see greed, pain, and
hunger, or beauty, compassion,
and love?
Is it too late?
Is this a lost cause,
or is there hope?
Are we capable of
cooperating with and learning
from nature and how
it managed to build
the most sustainable, circular,
elegant, and efficient
environments and systems
with the primary goals
of regeneration and
improved health?
Well, the answer to
that last one is yes,
and there's a term for that.
And it's biomimetics.
Biomimetics is not the simple
imitation of natural form,
but it's rather the abstraction
of biological systems
and processes in order to
create solutions for the world
that we're living in.
The Gherkin here is actually a
perfect example of biomimetics.
It may not look
like natural forms,
but it's actually
got exoskeleton,
and it's got a ventilation
system which is
inspired by coral in the sea.
So it's actually a very
intelligent, efficient building
using the genius of nature.
And when we rely more on biology
as opposed to technology,
when we're solving
a problem, we're
finding that we're using a
lot more structure, a lot
more information and
data, and a lot less
resources or substance.
We're finding that we're
relying a lot less on energy
and we're using all
the data that we're
collecting on a daily basis.
And now with all the
advanced technologies in AI
that's around, we're
able to make that happen.
I'm sure you know much
more about that than I do.
And it requires a certain
level of systems thinking.
And systems thinking-- I'm
not sure how many people here
are familiar with
complexity theory,
but it's the idea that
the world around us
consists of different systems,
with inputs and outputs.
And when you start to see
the world that, way you
start to realize that these
interactions, if you find
an output that goes into
the same system as an input
or another, you create what we
know now as a circular economy.
And that's the buzzword that
we're hearing all the time
at the moment, but
in its simplest form,
we're moving away
from a linear economy
where we're extracting
natural resources,
we're making products
and materials using
carbon-intensive and
energy-intensive processes,
and then we're using our
products and disposing of them,
creating waste and adding
to the environmental impact
and the impact on our
health and well-being.
When we move towards
a circular economy,
we're finding that
we're starting
the process by
reusing, recycling,
and ethically
sourcing materials,
and products, and things that
are already in circulation
within our economy.
We're making use of much
more carbon-efficient
and energy-efficient
processes, and we're
designing for deconstruction.
We're taking into account
the entire lifecycle
of a product or a material
when we're designing it.
And during the use phase,
we're introducing things
like servitization,
we're extending
the lifespan of a material or
a product, and at that stage,
we're actually adding as
much value as possible.
The circular economy
is not simply
about recycling
resources, but it's
about adding as much
value as possible
at every stage of the way.
So the resource
that you're using
is not depleting
in value at all.
It's either maintaining the same
value or increasing in value.
And that's exactly
what we do at Biohm.
Biohm is a research
and development
led company that places
biological systems
at the heart of its inspiration
to create a healthier and more
sustainable built environment.
We do this through a range
of bio-based materials
that we've developed.
We've also developed our
own construction systems.
And we also offer a range
of services and research.
Starting with our materials,
our focus first on ORB--
or Organic Refuse Bio-Compound.
And it's basically
an organic binder
that we've developed that
can be mixed with any food
or agricultural waste
to create materials that
can be made into sheets or can
be molded into complex 3D forms
as well.
And you can achieve
all sorts of aesthetics
depending on the type of
waste that you're using.
And the properties
of the material
are also influenced
by the range of waste
that we have access to.
So you can see things
here like orange peel.
We could use different
waste streams
from agriculture
as well like hemp,
and we can use
sugarcane waste as well.
And we're developing that into
a plant-based concrete, which
integrates more
agricultural waste,
and we're tweaking our recipe
with our organic binder
to allow it to maintain
and be able to withhold
such really high mechanical
loads to rival concrete.
Another material
we're working with
is mycelium, which you
may have already heard of.
It's getting quite a
lot of publicity lately,
and it's basically the
vegetative part of a mushroom.
If you look at any
forest, under the ground,
there are giant webs
of mycelium that
hold the top soils
together, and they
allow the plants to
communicate with one another.
And what we've done-- and this
is a known process that is used
in universities and
companies around the world--
is you're taking
the mycelium, you're
introducing it to a waste
stream or a substrate in a mold,
and then you're allowing it
to consume that substrate.
And what you end up with as
a material just like this one
here, which has actually
got incredible insulation
qualities, it's
self-extinguishing naturally,
and there aren't any chemicals
or additives in it at all.
And we're developing this into
a mushroom-based insulation--
or mycelium insulation.
And we're able to rival some
of the premium insulation
that's on the market.
We're actually
outperforming all of them,
as well as being
able to outperform
all of the industry standards
that are currently in place.
We're currently testing
and developing the process.
You can see Zoe Laughlin there
eating ice cream off one while
and there is thousands of
degrees of heat on the other,
and the ice cream didn't
melt. And we're also
using it for high end sort
of products, and consumer
products, and furniture.
But our mycelium
insulation is really
our star product when
it comes to mycelium,
and that's because of
its magical qualities
when it comes to
insulation in comparison
to other products that
are on the market,
and especially when you think
about the health and well-being
aspects as well as
the carbon footprint,
and energy benefits that
come with it as well.
And on top of all of that, we're
able to be price competitive
as well.
But introducing such radical
technologies like these,
you need to ensure
their survival.
And when you look at how nature
ensures a species' survival,
it makes sure that
appropriate ecosystem exists
before a species is introduced.
And we're able to do that
through a construction system
that we've developed bespokely
for natural materials that
may not be able to
withhold the types of loads
that current synthetic
alternatives are
able to withstand.
And this system's inspired
by the molecular structure
of carbon.
It allows buildings
to be deconstructed
at any stage of their
life because there
aren't any permanent
binders or fasteners.
It's all basically a
giant 3D jigsaw puzzle.
And an architect can
choose any floor plan
and only use our 21 components
to create the building.
So it offers extreme
flexibility and modularity
at the same time,
which is something
that's quite rare
within the construction
industry at the moment.
Although mycelium
and ORB are currently
available on the
market, Triagomy
is still in
development, and we're
looking to launch in
around two years time.
Again, when introducing such
a radical construction system,
you need to ensure that the
appropriate ecosystem exists
in place.
And we've done that by
developing a circular business
model that completely
changes the sourcing
process into a revenue stream.
So instead of buying
resources, we're
actually getting paid
to collect resources
or having them donated to us.
We then turn them
into materials.
Those materials are
then sold to industry
and contractually bound to be
collected at the end-of-life,
and we include that in the
costs of the material itself.
And we're able to do
that because we're
hacking the costs of the
actual manufacturing process
by getting our resources donated
or getting paid to collect
them, and then using
a living organism,
as opposed to labor
and machinery,
to create the actual products.
And then the building is
built on-site at 5% of current
build times.
We are then monitoring the
building throughout its life
with partners that we're
working with at the moment.
And then any maintenance
or reconfiguration
that takes place throughout
the building's life
is covered with a
subscription service.
So we're bringing
servitization to property,
which is a real game-changer.
And the main reason why the
housing crisis is in existence
is not necessarily because there
aren't enough homes in London,
but it's more because
the housing market is not
accessible or inclusive
enough for those
who are looking for homes.
And we're able to sell
houses for something
like 20,000 to 60,000
pounds, and then
offer a subscription
service, which
is a tiny percentage of
that on an annual basis.
And that's seen as an investment
because, at end of life,
you sell the
components back to us
or you take them with
you wherever you go.
And it sort of shakes
up the property market
and separates the value
of land and buildings,
which is quite an interesting
concept that we're also
looking to trial
before Triagomy is
launched with other modular
construction systems.
Again, you need to ensure an
appropriate ecosystem exists
when introducing and
changing our business models.
And we do that by holding
lots of events and talks,
like this one, as well as
holding workshops with industry
to make sure that we're able
to change perceptions and have
the industry, ready for
what we're about to launch
or what we're about
to bring to market.
And it's this sort
of systems thinking,
where we're constantly zooming
out every step of the way
and looking at the
bigger picture,
and making sure that our product
or our invention or technology
is fitting within the
current economy in the most
efficient and
seamless way possible.
About a year ago, as
Tim has mentioned,
[INAUDIBLE] who's the deputy
general manager at Compass
met with our Director
of Projects, Harry,
and discussed orange peel.
We realized that you guys love
to drink your orange juice,
and there's a lot
of orange peel being
generated as a result of that.
And orange peel was
actually one of the hardest
waste streams to
get rid of because
of its high acidity levels.
We have collected,
so far, 1.4 tons
of the peel that you have
used, which is 24,000 oranges.
And that's just, during the
research and development
process, to create some
products like this one here,
which is a riser,
which hopefully you'll
see in your buffet soon.
And you can see Tim is
very happy with it there.
[LAUGHS]
And hopefully, within the next
few months or, at the very
latest, by the end
of the year, we
would have collected over 25
tons of peel from your cafe
here at [INAUDIBLE] which
equates to about 450,000
oranges.
And that's just the beginning.
Because right now, we're able
to help you be more circular
and achieve circularity
with our material, ORB,
and the orange peel.
But there's almost no
limit to the type of waste,
whether it's food waste
or agricultural waste,
that we can use in ORB.
And when it comes
to mycelium, we're
also developing new
strains of mycelium
that we're training to consume
synthetic waste like plastics
and textiles as well.
And that just brings in
a whole new game-changer
to the industry, where it
introduces bio recycling
in a way that eliminates
the toxins that
exist in our society.
One of the biggest conundrums
of the circular economy
is, what are we going to do
with all this plastic that's
circulating within
our economy, which
is having huge
impacts on our health
and well-being, and
the environment,
at every step of the way?
And this may just
be the solution.
Feed it to mushrooms
because they can clean it up
and get it out of the system.
We've received a lot of
recognition and awards
along the way and from
national bodies as well
as international
bodies, and we're
working with some of the
largest names in industry.
And that's because we've got a
really strong philosophy that
really connects with
large corporations targets
as well as local and
global government
targets around the world.
And we're currently going
through a rapid scale-up,
and we're going to be launching
an equity crowdfunding campaign
within the next few months.
So if you're interested
in that, please do
register your interest
on our website.
Because all we really
want to do is work
towards a biomimetic feature--
a biomimetic future
that will not only
benefit us or the people
that we're working with,
but will benefit
everyone that lives
in this planet humans
or other in a way
that allows us to look
at things in systems
and make sure that there's a
circular economy and a future
that is inspired
by nature in place.
Because that is the best way
to help us reduce our time
and costs, it helps us reduce or
improve our resource and energy
efficiency, and it has a
dramatic positive impact
on our environmental impact.
I think we don't really need
to talk much about this.
It's all the news that we're
going through a climate crisis,
so there really isn't a better
time to take action with this.
Most importantly,
we're doing this
to improve the impact
that we're having
on our health and well-being.
Because we don't see
buildings as just a place
to offer shelter from the
elements, but rather a place
that is conducive to our
psychological and physiological
well-being.
And hopefully, that will
secure humanity's future
as a species that has
achieved advanced levels
of intelligence, consciousness,
and civilization.
Thank you very much.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER 1: Thanks.
Thank you.
That was a really great
and inspiring talk.
We'd just like to open
it up to the floor
now if anyone's
going any questions.
We've got a few
mics floating around
if anyone wants to ask a
question to Ehab or myself.
Yeah.
Go for it.
AUDIENCE: Really inspiring
stuff, what you're doing there.
So I'm kind of wondering,
why doesn't everyone do this?
[LAUGHTER]
This seems to be a very
sensible thing to do,
so I'm kind of surprised that
this is maybe not more common.
EHAB SAYED: It's
really difficult
to implement such
radical technologies
without a really strong
network within the industry,
with government, with academia.
We're only able to do this
through the relationships
and collaborations
that we have built.
So we're not doing all
of this by ourselves,
but we're working with
real large corporations,
with governments, and not just
in the UK, but outside the UK
as well.
And six of the top
universities in Europe
are cooperating with us
on all of these advances.
So it all boils down to
making the right connections
and collaborations happen
to make this possible.
But if you look at these certain
technologies on their own,
they're not necessarily
commercially
viable as a standalone product.
But when you put it into
this business model,
when you put it in
within the whole system,
that's when it becomes
really commercially viable.
So it's just
connecting the dots.
It's really not rocket science.
AUDIENCE: So I have a question.
Are you working just
on the UK market,
or you start already
abroad plans?
Because as far as I
know, for Scandinavia--
there, most of the buildings
are made from wood.
So England I'm not sure
about it, it's more like.
EHAB SAYED: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: And the
second question.
So does your material
meet all the requirements,
like moisture resistance, or
like strength and everything
to build, for example,
walls or roofing.
Is it good enough?
EHAB SAYED: Yeah.
So for your first
question, right now, we're
focusing on the UK market
simply because it's
where we're
starting, and we have
to take things one
step at a time,
but we're completely open
to explore opportunities
around the world.
We've got a very global team
from all sorts of backgrounds
and disciplines and
from all over the world,
and that's always been our aim.
We've got a lot of interest
in France, and in Portugal,
and in Germany.
And you'll find a lot
of European countries--
maybe a lot more
advanced than the UK,
particularly in the
construction industry--
when it comes to using natural
materials, and the perception
is slightly different.
So yeah, I completely
agree with that,
and it's something we're
more than happy to explore.
With regards to our
materials properties,
right now, ORB is
only really suitable
for interior architecture--
so dry lining,
furniture, products that won't
be exposed to the elements--
but we're very
quickly developing it
into becoming completely
water-resistant
and be able to be
used externally.
One of the things that
architects absolutely
love about ORB is
its aesthetics,
and so we've got
a lot of demands
for using it as facades.
And that's something that
we're working very hard
to make possible.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
EHAB SAYED: Yes.
Yeah.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
very strong.
EHAB SAYED: Absolutely.
It's-- yeah.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]
it's crazy stuff.
EHAB SAYED: [LAUGHS]
AUDIENCE: I was working in
building material-- oh, sorry.
So I was working in Poland for
seven years and the building
material business.
I was a sales executive.
That's why I'm interested
in this subject, basically.
And yeah, we sell a lot of
wood to Scandinavia, mostly,
as I told you.
And I reckon these guys
would be very interested
because all these
countries environment is
in the first place.
EHAB SAYED: Yes.
AUDIENCE: And yeah, if material
is resistant and it's strong,
going to make millions.
[INAUDIBLE]
EHAB SAYED: [LAUGHS]
Well, you can
look at it right now as a
comparative properties to MDF.
And so you can use it in
the same applications,
but we are working very hard
to develop it for exterior
applications as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
[CHUCKLES]
AUDIENCE: I think it might
be nice to touch on--
almost mentioned there--
but the goal of the project
is to try and make it
more affordable than
what's on the market
at the moment?
EHAB SAYED: Absolutely.
Absolutely.
So because of the business
model that we've built,
we're not only able to compete
on social and environmental
benefits, but, most
importantly, it's
either comparable to
something like MDF, which
is seen as a really affordable
material in the industry,
or it's just slightly
more expensive or cheaper.
And that's our aim, is
that we don't create
a premium sustainable material.
I think that's
also what makes it
quite an attractive material.
We're not trying to do
this for personal gain
or for personal wealth, but
to offer something and create
a case study and example
of how sustainable it could
be done in a holistic way.
AUDIENCE: It's fascinating.
I think you're doing
such an amazing job.
EHAB SAYED: Thank you.
AUDIENCE: I was
wondering-- obviously,
as the material become
relevant to be external,
how scalable is it?
Given that it's a natural
process to create this,
could you create
towns and houses
in really short periods of time?
EHAB SAYED: That
is the plan, yes.
[LAUGHS] So we we're
currently going
through a scale-up process.
And we're looking
with our next facility
to be able to provide 20
homes worth of insulation
every month, and
that's only guided
by the size of the facility.
That's from a 300 to 500
square meter facility,
and we're also able to build
upwards and grow upwards.
So it's not necessarily
dependent on land use.
And so we're making
sure that there
aren't any biodiversity impacts,
as well, from the scalp up
process.
And so in terms of scalability,
because the processes
that we're using are very
similar to current industry
standard processes--
particularly
with the ORB material--
and it's basically
just replacing a binder
with an organic one
and replacing the substrate
with natural substrate.
So it's like-for-like
replacement
in terms of the manufacturing
process, more or less.
AUDIENCE: And how does that
compare with the mushroom one?
Because that seemed
like it was--
EHAB SAYED: Yes.
[LAUGHS]
AUDIENCE: --maybe
more time intensive.
EHAB SAYED: So with the 20
houses worth of insulation,
that's with the
mycelium material.
And it could take from
four days to six weeks
to grow a panel of any
size and of any volume,
because you can grow them all
using the exact same growth
cycle.
So within construction,
those frames
are actually quite quick.
So it fits quite well in
terms of meeting the demand.
SPEAKER 1: Cool.
Anymore questions, anyone?
Yup.
AUDIENCE: I was
kind of wondering,
how do you see the chances
if this takes on to fix
the kind of waste stream issue?
Because right now,
the incentives
to properly separate your
waste for a company or also
domestically aren't very strong.
So if waste suddenly
becomes more valuable
because you can reuse
it, what influences
is that going to have?
EHAB SAYED: Yeah.
So regarding the waste
streams, there's absolutely
no shortage of waste streams.
Right now, the amounts
that we collect,
and during this scale-up, they
are still completely minuscule
compared to the actual
waste being generated.
With regards to the value
of waste being increased
and the organizations
realizing that there
is a value in this
resource, we've
worked on future projected
business models that
will help cushion that
and also, at that point,
hopefully we would have
scaled enough to achieve
the right economies of scale
to be able to cope with that.
Another thing as well is
very much like the way
we're working with
you at the moment.
We don't only offer a waste
collection service or a product
to sell.
We'd like to work as
a complete partnership
or a long-term
relationship, where
we're working with you to
collect the waste from you,
turn it into product,
sell it back to you,
and have an ongoing,
circular loop happening.
So creating those relationships
alleviates the risk of one
of those partners taking
advantage of the other.
AUDIENCE: Is any
of this material
going to be used in KGX1?
[LAUGHTER]
EHAB SAYED: Good question.
SPEAKER 1: I think
it's certainly
a journey we're
on at the moment.
EHAB SAYED: Yeah
SPEAKER 1: I'm really keen to
give Ehab was much orange peel
as he can take from us
and open as many doors
as we can together to work
forward towards that goal.
But I think, yeah, getting it
scaled up to that high level,
it would be fantastic to see.
EHAB SAYED: Yeah.
That's always been
the aim for us,
is to tackle the construction
and building side of things
more than anything
because that's
where you can have
the largest impact.
So yeah, there's been
some initial discussions.
SPEAKER 1: Cool.
I think that's it, unless
anyone has anymore.
No.
Well, please join me in thanking
Ehab for his time and his team
for coming here today.
EHAB SAYED: Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
