Visakhapatnam-based GreenJams is probably the world’s first construction materials manufacturer to make carbon-negative building brick—Agrocrete—made of crop residues and industrial by-products.
The startup company substantiates its ‘carbon-negative’ claim by publishing a third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its flagship innovation. The EPD system is originally established in 1998 and is based on the European standard EN 15804 (A1 and A2) as well as ISO 21930.
Genesis of Agrocrete
GreenJams is a part of the Andhra University Incubation Ecosystem and has an operational facility in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh with a capacity of 2,000 blocks per day.
One facility at Visakhapatnam has a capacity of 3,000 blocks per day and another facility at Hyderabad is coming up in the next three months. The company, with it’s biggest customer being ITC Ltd, is also working on orders for residential, commercial and industrial projects, from Roorkee, Rishikesh, Surajgarh, Chennai, Meerut, Kapurthala and New Delhi.
Carbon emissions prevented
Agrocrete, the carbon-negative brick is can potentially replace conventional bricks and lower the construction cost by upto 50% and operational costs by 30%, according to GreenJams.
It can be moulded into various forms and shapes such as blocks, tiles, decorative plaster etc and the company offers different block sizes from 4 to 9 inches in length with cost varying from ₹26 to ₹55 per block.
Tarun Jami, founder of GreenJams, said with a potential annual production of 900 million cubic meters of Agrocrete, around 100 million tonnes of CO2 could be captured and prevent 350 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
“This year, ITC Limited alone captured 38.5 tonnes of CO2 and avoided 144 tonnes of CO2 emissions by using our brick in its project at Kapurthala,” Mr. Tarun Jami mentioned.
Speaking to The Hindu, GreenJams co-founder Varun Jami said even though they have international inquiries, they concentrated on the domestic market with inquiries worth over ₹64 crore from across the country, he added.
“We have already received some orders from the Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram areas, which we will fulfil once the facility is operational by the end of this December. The equipment has already been installed, and production trials are ongoing” Varun JamiCo-founder, GreenJams
“We have already received some orders from the Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram areas, which we will fulfil once the facility is operational by the end of this December. The equipment has already been installed, and production trials are ongoing,” Mr. Varun Jami, a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, said while adding that the AU’s incubation ecosystem gave immense support from all corners.
Speaking to The Hindu,AU vice chancellor Prof. P.V.G.D. Prasad Reddy said, “It is a proud moment that our incubation center gets the global attention through the products like Agrocrete. The youth should be inspired. ”
GreenJams’ Agrocrete Block
Made of crop residues and industrial by-products.
Can be moulded into various forms and shapes such as blocks, tiles, decorative, plaster etc.
There are different block sizes starting from ₹26 per 4-inch block ₹55 for a 9-inch block.
GreenJams co-founder Varun Jami showing an Agrocrete block | Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
