Honeywell to Provide Insulation to Mighty Buildings’ 3D Printed Homes

Additive construction (AC) startup Mighty Buildings has announced a partnership with manufacturing giant Honeywell to integrate the conglomerate’s unique insulation into Mighty Buildings’ 3D-printed homes. This collaboration centers on Honeywell’s Solstice Liquid Blowing Agent (LBA), which the company describes as “a low-global warming potential (GWP) technology” meant to replace traditional foam insulation. According to the partners, the product will enable Mighty Buildings to improve the sustainability and energy efficiency of its 3D-printed homes.

The construction industry is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for 37% of the total emissions worldwide, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme. This statistic underscores the need for transformative approaches to construction materials and methods.

Honeywell’s Solstice LBA. Image courtesy of Honeywell.

Honeywell’s Solstice LBA, with its GWP described as being 99.9% lower than other blowing agents commonly used in construction, could represent a significant advancement in reducing the environmental footprint of building materials. When used in Mighty Buildings’ 3D-printed homes, Solstice LBA is said to both reduce emissions while also enhancing the thermal insulation of building panels, contributing to more energy-efficient homes. This improvement is crucial for reducing the overall energy consumption required for heating and cooling, which is a major factor in the long-term sustainability of buildings.

Mighty Buildings has been a novel player in AC, using a combination of ultraviolet curing and material deposition to produce composite walls off-site. The 3D-printed panels using Solstice LBA are manufactured at Mighty Buildings’ facility in Monterrey, Mexico, which has the capacity to produce enough panels for two homes per day. These houses are said to be completed in less than a week, significantly faster than traditional construction methods. Additionally, the use of Solstice LBA in the panels ensures that the homes require less energy for temperature regulation, thus providing both environmental and cost benefits over the lifespan of the building.

The collaboration is a part of Honeywell’s larger work to reduce the environmental impact of its products. Having invested over $1 billion into research and development for its Solstice technology, the company claims that this insulation has helped avoid the equivalent of over 395 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions since 2011.

Honeywell’s engagement with 3D printing extends beyond this partnership with Mighty Buildings. The company has a history of leveraging additive manufacturing to improve its own products, particularly in aerospace. For instance, Honeywell has used 3D printing to create ceramic molds for turbine blades, significantly reducing production time and costs. These are no small commitments. The fact that it is pursuing the AC sector with Mighty Buildings signifies that not only does Honeywell believe in the validity of the startup’s unique technology, but in the construction 3D printing sector as a whole.

With the AC sector still in its nascent stages, this partnership represents a significant evolution in its development. At the moment, we’re seeing so many concrete extrusion firms that it’s almost too hard to count. Mighty Buildings is one of a few businesses offering not only a different technology but a different model. The introduction of Honeywell’s insulation represents a further advancement of unique materials in the AC market. As diversification of technologies continues, we’ll begin to see this niche segment find a firmer footing. And as industrial giants like Honeywell further enter the space, the overall picture for construction 3D printing will not only become clearer, but the market itself should start to become profitable.