About the BioSIPs Grant Project

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Julee Herdt, CU professor, architect, and inventor of BioSIPs, and Paul Meyer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, recently completed a Department of Defense, U.S. Army, sustainable building materials grant in the amount of $250k. The work brought together Herdt’s carbon negative, 100% bio-mass waste fibers construction system (patented BioSIPs/CU) and Meyer’s lignin-based adhesive invention (BUILDEM/NREL) for prototyping a low-carbon, disruptive co-product. The work offers the Army novel materials for helping reach a 30% reduction in overall carbon/climate footprint in construction and meeting of the global Climate Adaptation Plan. BioSIPs building inventions offer carbon negative alternatives to concrete, steel, and wood products. 

The DoD grant was a CU, cross-campus collaboration between the College of Architecture and Planning; the College of Engineering; Design, and Computing; NREL; the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Products Laboratory; and Mojo Woodworkers.

Bio-Based Materials

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BioSIPs bio-laminated beams from 100% biomass waste fiberboards ready for load testing as replacements to toxic engineered lumber beams. 

Professor Herdt’s BioSIPs biobased building materials received CU’s first-ever architecture patents. One invention is a complete structural insulated panel (SIP) building enclosure system, in which various bio-insulations can be added such as hemp or sheep wool. Results are a super-strong, energy- and resource-efficient modular construction system. Other inventions include solid bio-laminated beams as alternatives to CLTs and solid lumber, bio-framing members- and trusses. BioSIPs construction innovations clean the Earth of waste through manufacturing of energy-efficient, affordable buildings. BioSIPs prototype products, plus other novel materials, will be showcased in the "Research Cottage", a partnership with Ferguson Pyatt Architects.

Fully Grown

MycoBioSIPs,100% biodegradable mycelium insulated panel system by Professor Julee Herdt. The carbon-negative, low environmental impact panels are biodegradable at end-of-life and recyclable-renewable-repulpable for zero waste. They feature superior Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and integrate with BioSIPs beam, column, and framing members.

Patented MycoBioSIPs with mushroom insulation utilize science and natural molecular bonding to fuse thermal protection within proprietary, 100% recycled biomass skins and cores. No toxic resins, glues, or fasteners are used.  Carbon-negative, MycoBioSIPs structural insulated building panels are compostable as soil remediation at end-of-building-use, to leave  only healthy nutrients behind. A University of Colorado technology grant funded this research and development. 

"BioSIPs, Inc's line of construction innovations clean the Earth of waste through manufacturing of energy-efficient, affordable buildings.” The company is ready to partner with other innovators committed to creating a healthier world.

Underway in CAP Classrooms and Beyond: Biogenic Material Science & Applications in Energy-Efficient Buildings

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Applied building material research and development of carbon-negative building materials meeting global carbon emissions reductions, reduced waste in landfills, and creation of healthier, better buildings and a healthier environment.

At CU, Professor Julee Herdt and architecture and engineering students worked with noted research scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Products Lab, the National Renewable Energy Lab, and others, through funded research to produce full-scale, novel new biobased, biogenic construction materials from 100% waste fibers showing:

• Sustainability-centered materials-by-design
• Forward waste utilization for sustainable low-logistics manufacturing
• Scalable sustainable building material technologies
• Low-logistics indigenous materials utilization
• Terrestrial carbon sequestration materials and technologies
  

The work is based on Professor Herdt’s patented BioSIPs® construction alternatives to petroleum-based materials.  BioSIPs products are:

• Recyclable, repulpabile and easily disassembled for reused
• Biodegradable at end of composting as soil remediation, for no landfilling or burning
• Non-off-gassing  

Transverse load testing of a patented full-scale BioSIPs panel for construction application.

Full-scale BioSIPs panel with hemp batt insulation for installation in the upcoming BioSIPs Research Cottage, Boulder.