Återhus 3.0 - Building from buildings

Sustainable construction must be based on circular material flows. The reason is the large extraction volumes of virgin materials, the high energy consumption and the extensive waste production that the sector is responsible for today. The overall goal of the innovation project "Återhus - Building from buildings" is to contribute to the construction industry's transition to circular material flows and increased sustainability following international goals (Agenda 2023) and national goals and directives. In an earlier phase, Återhus has developed processes, methods and techniques for the large-scale reuse of heavy building components made of steel and concrete (two of the most resource- and energy-intensive materials during production and they often have a long service life left during demolition) in new production and rebuilding. Återhus 3.0 will implement those and scale up the reuse of load-bearing construction parts made of concrete and other materials.

Återhus 3.0 goal is to transform the construction and real estate industry into a circular economy. To achieve the goal, the project is expected to affect the following indicators:

• Increase reuse of load-bearing structural parts that would be demolished today. 
• Reduce climate impact from the construction and property sector following the Swedish Housing Agency's limit values (25% reduction by 2030) through the reuse of the most climate-intensive materials (kgCO2eq/m2). 
• Strengthen the competitiveness in the construction and property industry with recycling by scaling up recycling and faster permit processes (kgCO2eq/SEK).
• Reduce volumes of demolition waste by 10% (tons of waste per year).
• Increase ability of the industry to attract competence and to build innovation capacity.