In 2022, we talked to Zavhy about their proof of concept ticket from the TTT Circular Technology. Two years later, Zeeshan Yunus Ahmed has made several steps in their mission of creating a sustainable and affordable way of building houses and infrastructure. We sat with him again to catch up and see how his spin-off is doing two years after TTT.
This article previously appeared in the TTT Magazine.
To refresh our memories, what does Zavhy do?
Zeeshan: “We developed a method to introduce structural fibers and steel cable reinforcement into 3D-printed concrete to improve its structural performance and create new possibilities for its application in construction projects. 3D concrete printing (3DCP) technology is currently being used in the industry for mostly non-structural applications, from outdoor furniture to single-story houses. However, with the capability to apply our 3DCP technology to structural applications, we have the opportunity to use this technology for infrastructure projects such as bridges. Eventually, we want to start building multi-story houses and residential buildings as well. That can have a tremendous impact because we could build houses cheaply and fast without compromising the quality. Most importantly, we can improve massively on sustainability and circularity for the industry.
What does that improvement look like?
Zeeshan: “Currently, the construction industry is one of the biggest waste generators and contributors to the CO2 footprint. This is primarily because of the high cement usage in the concrete and the use of single-use molds for constructing one-off customized projects. With 3D printing, you don’t use a mold, so you reduce waste, and with the use of an alternate binder to replace cement in our printable concrete, we can cut down on the CO2 footprint. Lastly, our 3DCP technology, being highly digitized and automated, helps improve productivity for the sector and reduce the physically demanding working conditions of conventional construction, thus paving the way for increased participation of women in the industry.”
How far have you come since we talked to you in 2022?
Zeeshan: “The most important step we took is completing our consortium. Together with those ten partners, we received new subsidies. Between October 2023 and February 2024, we raised close to €2.5 million in grants and investments. With that money, we opened a 3DCP facility in May and are currently working on three prototype bridges. Following the success of these bridges, we are working with our customer to make sixty bridges in the next five years.”
Did you also get the follow-up funding from TTT?
Zeeshan: “No, that’s the interesting part. We grew too fast, so it didn’t fit TTT’s criteria for the convertible loan anymore. Instead, we closed our pre-seed funding from an angel investor last October. Still, the business support from TTT was immensely beneficial because we still needed to switch from academia to startup life. That was almost more helpful than the money would have been. Having said that, the initial €20K from the first ticket helped us to get the consortium up and running and to create an IP strategy for the three patents we filed on our technology. Besides that, we also used it to do market research and to create a pitch deck. So, in a way, the first ticket helped us get all the other funding.”
That’s quite the journey. What’s next?
Zeeshan: “In the future, we want to franchise our technology to democratize it. For example, you want to set up a facility in Groningen because you need bridges there. You pay for the franchise, and we take care of everything else. That way, you can use our IP and our knowledge, and you’re guaranteed the quality. What McDonald’s did for the food industry is what we want to do for construction. We want to industrialize the technology so it can be replicated while keeping the quality standards high. Eventually, that’ll help us take this technology worldwide to make it easier to give every human being a roof over their head.”
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Zavhy’s current consortium partners include AGMAH, Van Beek Schroeftransport, Bekaert, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), IMd Raadgevende Ingenieurs, Remix Droge Mortel, Remmits GWW, QUGATE and Yaskawa.
They received the following subsidies:
- REACT-EU grant from OPZuid, Europees Fonds voor Regionale Ontwikkeling and Ministerie van Economische Zaken
- MIT R&D from RVO
- KIA – from RVO
- EFRO subsidy from OPZuid, Europees Fonds voor Regionale Ontwikkeling, and Ministerie van Economische Zaken
- TTT ticket
Besides the subsidies mentioned above, they received their pre-seed equity investment of 500K from an angel investor.