Irish ICF manufacturer attains EPD

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The company said the Amvic 300 forms the structural basis to achieve an A2 BER as standard, with the possibility of building to A1.

Amvic’s director Pat Martin says the drive to achieve an EPD came as ICF construction is significantly growing market share, with embodied carbon coming onto the agenda due to the recast Environmental Performance of Buildings Directive and new sustainability reporting requirements.

“The big players in the Irish market are still the timber frames and traditional blockwork, but ICF is growing very rapidly as a percentage. It could be as high as 18 per cent to 20 per cent last year,” he said.

Amvic hopes the unambiguous quantification of environmental impacts offered by the EPD will give confidence to architects and developers seeking an efficient and energy-conscious building system.

The company has also commissioned an embodied carbon benchmarking exercise by offsite construction consultants Evolusion Innovation in Cork, which revealed how to substantially reduce the embodied carbon of an ICF wall through measures including substituting cement with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and the use of recycled steel rebar.

The report also noted that the Amvic 300 can achieve NZEB compliance in conjunction with other higher-performance building elements. Martin said the study underscores positive experiences reported by both industry professionals and homeowners.

“When combined with the lived experience of Amvic ICF houses, that of lower energy cost, durability, and low noise, this makes ICF a very compelling proposition.

The industry will be interested in our short lead times – just days – while home owners have consistently reported back positively. In fact, the feedback is extraordinary with people frequently telling us their homes are quiet and warm,” he said.