New Resource Product Prize / Decay Into Magic Prize / 21st Century Concrete Prize / Beyond Mining & Transportation Prize
The Fossilizator
Néolithe
Description
Néolithe’s patented fossilisation process, unknown anywhere else in the world, turns non-recyclable, non-inert and non-hazardous waste into mineral aggregates – in other words stones – for use in the construction industry.
By implementing this technology on an industrial scale, Néolithe is responding to the environmental crisis by creating a third option for processing non-recyclable waste, which is normally buried or incinerated.
Our three-step process turns waste into stones, that act like carbon sink : for each ton of waste treated, about 300 kg of CO2 is trapped. It hence helps to highly decrease the carbon footprint of waste treatment and construction.
Detailed explanation of the submitted project or idea.
The process was designed by a former stonemason, while working on an ancient building. He made the link between “waste” from the cretaceous and our waste. He then imagined a process to accelerate this process : waste’ size reduction, binder introduction, and extrusion under a high pressure press. It then creates mineral aggregates that can be reused into construction or road underlays.
Before waste reduction, a waste sorting is realized, then allowing to valorize a maximum of matter.
Since the process does not require heat and mineralize the biogenic materials, it has been estimated that a ton of waste fossilized permits to stock about 300 kg of CO2.
Link
Comments from Judges
Noriko Ishizaka
President of Ishizaka Inc.
New Resource Product Prize
Worldwide, it’s so important that we turn construction and demolition waste into alternative building materials instead of sending it for incineration or landfill. That’s why I want to bring attention to the value of the minerals that Néolithe is generating from waste.
Lingchih Yang
FabCafe Toulouse Co-founder
Decay Into Magic Prize
Each European citizen produces approximately 500 kg of waste per year. Some methods that we invented in the past, such as landfill or incineration, might be a quick, short-term solution for waste disposal, but eventually end up causing all sorts of environmental pollution. The Fossilizator proposes a new solution to turn non-recyclable waste into construction materials. It not only reduces the volume of non-recyclable waste and can be a substitute material for construction, but also reduces the amount of resources and energy needed for the production of concrete and cement.
Jérémie Bellot
Architect / Digital artist and founder of AV Extended / Owner and Creative Director of Château de Beaugency
21st Century Concrete Prize
A definitely new way of thinking our waste upcycling, this french company will push our industry to transform the use of waste into construction or design. Mixing with pigment colors can also push the project into design furniture. Really ambitious an innovative.
Kousuke Kinoshita
FabCafe Kyoto MTRL Marketing and Production
Beyond Mining & Transportation Prize
This project shatters the accepted wisdom that stones are something to be mined and transported. The shock was so great that I had to read it twice. There are all kinds of ways to recycle waste, but The Fossilizator is a remarkably far-reaching attempt to establish a sustainable regional economy, one that goes beyond creating new materials out of waste to include other benefits such as local job creation, carbon sequestration, and reductions in mining and transportation. It’s also impressive to create new foundations for buildings and roads using the same fossilization processes that formed the Earth over millions of years.
See All Winners