ECO-I North West - Opening up the expertise, equipment and resource of the region’s leading universities

Company Profile Axess2 Ltd is a North West based property developer intending to construct one of the UK’s first block of Net Zero Carbon (NZC) apartments in Chester. They have acquired planning permission and intend to build NZC homes using innovative composite Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs). On completion the company anticipates significant growth in this type of Modern Method of Construction (MMC). The Project The aim of this project is to consider the whole life NZC impact of the SIPs system and its potential to help the UK Government achieve NZC status by 2050. It will consider the combination of energy efficiency, sustainability and modelling through innovation in design. The results of the project may prove that the system offers an affordable, green (potential CO2 reductions of more than 70%), quick building system resulting in low energy bills and a solution to the UK housing shortage by increasing the speed that new energy efficient homes are brought to market that meet the NZC agenda. Joshua Lavender Joshua has been working for a company that operates within the building industry, with a main focus on modular construction and to date has been involved in numerous projects using SIPs panels and have gained a good understanding of the build process. Now Joshua wishes to put down the tools and explore the theory behind this modern method of construction and see if it can indeed achieve NZC status well in advance of the 2050 targets. Academic Supervisors Dr Stephen Finnegan Axess2 Ltd