A construction company is growing building materials from cyanobacteria—photosynthetic microbes that capture carbon dioxide as they form solid, lightweight panels. This matters because the construction industry is a major source of global carbon emissions, largely due to cement production. Tattva’s process excludes cement entirely, instead using living organisms to directly sequester CO₂ into functional structural elements. The resulting material is lightweight, high-strength, highly insulative, fire-safe, and acoustically sound—properties confirmed by independent laboratory tests at UCL and elsewhere. If scaled successfully, this technology could replace carbon-intensive concrete and steel in buildings, reducing the construction sector’s carbon footprint while producing materials that are cheaper to transport and better at insulating. The company has already built four one-meter living panels, showcased in 2023 at the Bioscope Pavilion in St. Andrews Botanic Garden, and is now developing a pilot modular production plant on a farm in Devon, using renewable energy to cut costs. Partners including Jaguar Land Rover, Foster + Partners, and Saint-Gobain are testing samples from the first production run. The cyanobacteria used have been verified as non-toxic, and preliminary fire testing with Edinburgh University showed promising results.
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Tattva is a pioneering biological construction company developing a revolutionary structural engineering process using cyanobacteria to create high-performance, carbon-negative building materials. This foundational technology emerged from five years of academic research, beginning as an MSc project and advancing through funding from EPSRC for a PhD at UCL's Advanced Centre of Biochemical Engineering. From its theoretical concept in 2019 (TRL1) to proof-of-concept (TRL3) in 2021, it reached industrial feasibility (TRL6) in 2024\. Tattva's technology represents a breakthrough in biomaterial development by using photosynthetic organisms to directly sequester CO2 and form functional building elements. Unlike other biomaterials, Tattva's process excludes cement, aligning it with sustainable, decarbonized construction practices. Laboratory tests at UCL and by independent bodies confirm the material's superior properties: it is lightweight, high-strength, highly insulative, fire-safe, acoustically sound, and aesthetically versatile. In 2023, the technology was scaled successfully, with four one-meter living panels showcased at the Bioscope Pavilion in St. Andrews Botanic Garden. Tattva has since partnered with Elston Farm in Devon and secured investment from G-Force, a European climate venture capital firm, to develop a pilot modular biomaterial production plant. This collaboration leverages Elston Farm's infrastructure, including renewable energy sources, to optimize production costs and increase the material's accessibility. The technology has already passed preliminary fire testing conducted with Edinburgh University, showing promising results, and DNA analysis has verified that the cyanobacteria used are non-toxic. We are actively partnering with a range of leading organizations---including Jaguar Land Rover, Atkins Realis, Foster + Partners, Saint-Gobain, HSE, The Eden Project, and Atelier Ten---to distribute samples from the first production run for further testing across various applications. In addition, we are exploring additional funding opportunities through SMART, DEFRA, MOD (DASA), and Horizon grants to expand the technology's applications in collaboration with partner organizations. Positioned as a world leader in photosynthetic structural materials, Tattva is on track to unlock scalable solutions for reducing carbon emissions in the construction industry both in the UK and globally. We look forward to working with Catnic as a research and development partner to explore this technology's full potential for sustainable construction materials.
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