Microscale 3D printer manufacturer Microlight3D has received EU backing to develop a new form of concrete that could enable the construction of ‘self-cooling’ buildings. 

Awarded as part of the EU’s Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) program, the funding will be used to design a microstructured building material with unique temperature-regulating properties. Set to be developed alongside five European universities, Microlight3D says that its novel cement has the potential to “revolutionize the construction industry,” by lowering the impact of urban metropolises on the environment.

“By using microstructured concrete, buildings will be able to cool down naturally and thereby reduce the ‘urban heat islands’ that build up in cities during summer heatwaves,” said Denis Barbier, CEO of Microlight3D. “This structural building material, which can cool down by itself, will also reduce the energy consumption used for air conditioning and benefit the climate by lowering CO₂ emissions.”

Denis Barbier and Philippe Paliard present the first micro-structured concrete sample. Photo via Microlight3D.

Microlight3D’s ‘2PP’ technology 

Based in French city of Grenoble, Microlight3D is a manufacturer of high-res, micro-scale 2D and 3D printers with micro-optics, robotics and electronics applications. The firm’s systems are based on its proprietary two-photon polymerization (2PP) technology, which it spent 15 years developing at Grenoble Alpes University (UGA), and has now brought to market.

In effect, the company’s 2PP approach involves the use of sub-nanosecond laser pulses to create ultra-narrow voxels, which serve as a basis for 3D printing highly-detailed and complex nanostructures. Since launching its 2PP-enabled Altraspin and µFAB-3D machines, Microlight3D has increasingly sought to build on the unique capabilities of its microsale technology, as well as its wider applications. 

Back in 2019, the company acquired Smart Force Technologies (SFT) in a move that was touted at the time, as enabling the integration of micro-scale 2D printing capabilities into its microfluidic 3D printers. In the past, the firm has also received €747,000 from EuroNanoMed to fund the R&D of its systems for wound-healing regenerative medicine applications. 

Now, as part of the wider EU-backed Horizon 2020 program, Microlight3D has been tasked with applying its technology within the construction sector, to enable the production of a novel microstructured concrete, that it says could “transform the capacity of buildings to cool down naturally.” 

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