IIP India was invited to present about the climate-friendly non-fired FaL-G (Flyash Lime Gypsum) brick technology at the Tech4Dev Conference, which is the biennial flagship event of the UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development hosted by CODEV at EPFL. The Conference focuses on the potential of technology solutions to advance inclusive social and economic development in the Global South.

The current status of brick industry in is highly unsustainable and needs to upgrade in order to save valuable natural resources, reduce air pollution, and increase energy efficiency. There are innovative technological options and policy measures that can address these issues. A new climate-friendly non-fired technology FaL-G technology, invented by two Indians Mr. N. Kalidas and Dr. N. Bhanumathidas, uses fly ash, with two other ingredients also available as industrial by products: Lime from acetylene industry and Gypsum from chemical plants. This new method of brick making offers many advantages over conventional brick making has the potential to completely eliminate carbon emissions as it does not use top soil and fossil fuel as raw material. Putting fly ash to productive use reduces water, air, and soil pollution. Additionally, with its low thermal conductivity over the traditional bricks, it has the potential to bring down the operational energy use of the building. Tech4Dev2018_Bharadwaj Ritu