Duplicor biocomposites to advance Netherlands housing construction

Holland Composites BV’s (Lelystad, The Netherlands) Duplicor bio-based and fire-resistant composite materials are finding a place in several construction projects around the world, the most recent being biocomposite floor elements for Dura Vermeer’s (Hengelo) novel housing concept Aer. What is currently taking shape are two mock-up homes at the site of an old fishing net factory near the Apeldoorn train station (in the Netherlands), set to become future housing options.  

The Aer concept represents fast, affordable homes with environmentally conscious building materials. They are made entirely in a factory, with a wood frame construction concept whose shell can be installed in 3-5 days and finished in 2 weeks. Floors, kitchen, plumbing and technical installations are delivered to the production hall where everything is put together. Aer is said to provide an MPG score (an environmental building performance calculation) of less than 0.36 and offers material-related CO₂ emissions of less than 110 eq p/m² (or CO₂ equivalent, a metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases on the basis of their global-warming potential). Moreover, more than 79% of Aer’s material volume is bio-based.

The first homes are planned to be on the market starting in 2025. Initially, Aer will be offered for rented social housing, low-medium rented housing and social sale. After that, it will be possible to scale up to multiple types of owner-occupied housing.

Aligned with these developments is Holland Composites’ ongoing strategy to convince its customers to step away from the use of synthetic (and often toxic) composite options in their products and incorporate Duplicor prepreg laminates instead, from lightweight façades and fire-safe roof structures to interiors and offshore solutions. Customer Surfland Composites Pvt. Ltd. (Bengaluru, India) is one of many that has been onboarded in this process — in August, a fully loaded 40-inch cooling container with thousands of meters of Duplicor prepreg rolls arrived at the company’s facility.

Together with its partners, Holland Composites aims for a future full of composites made from recycled and thus environmentally conscious materials.