The new Innovative Materials 2024 volume 1 has just been released

KVK Innovation Top 100 2023
Every year, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce KVK presents the KVK Innovation Top 100 to show what Dutch SMEs are capable of. The new ranking was announced at the end of 2023 and again this year contained a serious number of innovations in the field of materials and material applications.

Print­ing inks made from plants
Natural dyes have been used by humans for centuries. Indigo, carmine, purple and ultramarine have been known since ancient times and were only replaced by synthetic dyes during the industrial revolution. The Research Institute for Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics in Dornbirn has been researching natural dyes for over 25 years. Despite a trend towards ecological raw materials, natural dyes have not yet been able to establish themselves in the textile industry.

Carbon in concrete: Building on CO2
The construction industry as a CO2 sink? Researchers at from the Swiss Materials Institute Empa Concrete & Asphalt lab are working on this. By incorporating biochar into concrete, they are exploring the potential of CO2-neutral or even CO2-negative concrete. For optimal applicability, they process the biochar into pellets and use them to replace conventional aggregates.

Remediation of contaminated wooden structures
In Germany, there are around three million buildings that are contaminated with the toxic wood preservatives lindane and pentachlorophenol (PCP). In the CycloPlasma project, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP are developing a new type of process to remove these decades-old contaminants – in the air as well as in contaminated wooden structures

Bioreceptive facades through the use of living moss walls
Last November, Respyre presented an innovative, sustainable facade cladding:
VertiScape. These are facade panels made of sustainable concrete with living moss. The concrete mixture from which it is made is 90 percent circular. This gives old rubble a new purpose and reduces CO2 emissions. In addition, during the life of the facade, CO2 is absorbed in the concrete as lime, making it a CO2-negative material.

New method to produce biocarbon
TNO has developed a process – ‘EnerChar’ – to make ‘clean’ (or ‘green’) carbon. Carbon is a widely used material, but usually comes from fossil sources. The new method makes it possible to produce biocarbon on a large scale with precisely adjustable properties. According to TNO, the use of biocarbon can make a major contribution to reducing fossil carbon use and therefore to reducing CO2 emissions.

Smart coating visualizes hidden defects
Researchers from TU Delft are working on an innovative cost-effective coating material that changes color as an early warning system, thus making vulnerabilities visible well in advance.

New AI tool discovers realistic ‘metamaterials’ with unusual properties
Researchers from TU Delft have now developed an AI tool that not only can discover new metamaterials but also makes them fabrication-ready and durable. This makes it possible to create devices with unprecedented functionalities. They publish their findings in Advanced Materials.

For the entire summary, click here>