Urban environment development company

This business develops regenerative structures for the urban environment that naturally integrate ecology and climate adaptation into the built environment. Using computational design and a proprietary printing technology, complex, porous forms are created that create a wide variety of micro-conditions. This encourages biodiversity bottom-up, as different species can independently find suitable habitats and refugia.

Required capital: €180,000.

Key activity
The structures can store and buffer rainwater. Thanks to the porosity of the material, moisture becomes passively available at the surface, allowing algae and mosses to grow. Evaporation also cools the immediate environment and thus contributes to reducing urban heat stress. The concept is used in facades, noise barriers, retaining walls and bank protection, among others.

Growth prospects
The first small-scale pilots with various public and private partners have validated the technical and ecological operation through an experimental production setup. To realize follow-up projects on an architectural and infrastructure scale, work is now underway on a larger print technology and a bioreceptive print material with a low carbon footprint. The revenue model is evolving in phases from paid pilots and research projects to scalable product sales. In the first few years, revenues are mainly from pilots, supplemented by grants, which serve for further development and market validation. From 2029, a standardized product will be introduced, with scale-up and process optimization as the basis for a growing margin.

Strengths
The strength of the concept lies in the contrast with common, top-down applied urban nature, which often depends on intensive maintenance. By focusing precisely on morphological complexity and passive, bioreceptive materials, systems are created that can develop autonomously, retain water, stimulate evaporation and add ecological value with minimal maintenance requirements.

Investment needs
The next phase requires capital (€ 180,000) for expansion of:

• Printing equipment (€ 115,000)
• R&D hours (€36,000)
• Housing (€15,000)
• Organization (€14,000)

In case of strong interest, the funding round can be increased to a maximum of €300,000, among other things to expand the team with additional technical and commercial expertise. The investment will take place via convertible loans within a crowd-investing structure.

Other information
The development so far has been financed by own efforts, project revenues and various grants focused on research, experiments and pilots. No institutional equity has yet been raised. The current capital round represents the first external funding and is intended to move from experimental pilots to larger-scale commercial application.