Printing a place to live: In Central Texas, homes are being built with emerging 3D technology

After facing a shortage of bricklayers, the Netherlands found a housing solution which also doubled as a way of cutting development costs and damage to the environmental. Project Milestone, a development that creates 3D printed houses, is the first of its kind and is already drawing a steady residential candidate pool.

Gree Energy helps food processors in Indonesia overcome the financial barriers to installing anaerobic wastewater treatment plants. These plants turn methane emissions into biogas to be used as electricity or thermal energy. The company plans the builds, finds uses for the biogas, and establishes revenue to fund the projects.

A small business in Puerto Morelos uses invasive seaweed that washes up on Mexico’s beaches to create construction blocks. The company, Sargassum, mixes the seaweed with organic materials, presses the mixture into block shapes, and lets them bake in the sun to harden. The owner sells some of the blocks and uses some to build affordable housing in his community.

The Kenyan start-up Gjenge Makers creates pavers that are stronger and cheaper than typical concrete by heating a mixture of shredded plastic waste and sand and then compressing it to form the blocks.

Housing developers are following the Passive House standards to create affordable housing that’s incredibly energy efficient. These buildings are air-tight with efficient ventilation and strategically positioned windows, so they don’t need central heating and cooling systems.

The California-based startup Magrathea Metals is producing magnesium with renewable energy to make the process less expensive and material-intensive. The company aims to make the more environment-friendly metal competitive with steel and aluminum.

The Philadelphia-based company Solar States offers a paid training opportunity for city residents to learn to install solar panels and earn the necessary credentials to help them start careers in the industry. The company’s newest program, Find Your Ladder, is a training opportunity for people who have been through the criminal justice system.

The startup Pipedream Labs is running small, electric vehicles in tunnels under Peachtree Corners, Georgia, to make last-mile deliveries for local restaurants. The aim is to reduce emissions, traffic, and delivery costs for businesses.

Marine carbon capture, a term for various methods that trap carbon deep in the ocean, can help mitigate climate change by reducing the amount of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Startups around the U.S. are advancing helpful technologies.

Entrepreneurs are encouraging reuse models like return-from-home systems to transition towards a circular economy without single-use plastics. In this model, consumers pay a deposit to use takeout boxes, cups, and other containers. They get their deposit back when the containers are picked up from their home by a courier.