Dozens of people lost their lives in the Bahamas three years ago when a hurricane struck. The nation is currently building what it claims to be the world’s first carbon-negative housing community.
It aims to ease the scarcity of homes caused by the storm and reduce the likelihood of future disasters.
Former NBA star Rick Fox is the anchor of the new housing scheme. After losing his own home to Hurricane Durian in 2019, it motivated the Los Angeles Lakers player and citizen of the Bahamas.
Fox worked with architect Sam Marshall to create Partanna, a building material that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. (Marshall has also experienced a severe calamity – the wildfires in 2018 took his Malibu home.)
The Bahamas is now testing the technology. Moreover, Fox’s company – Partanna Bahamas – is working with the government to build 1,000 hurricane-proof homes. This includes single-family homes and apartments.
Abaco Islands are expected to receive the first 30 units next year, as durian has been hit hardest.
“Innovation and new technology will play a crucial role in avoiding the worst climate scenarios,” Prime Minister of the Bahamas Philip Davis said.
The prime minister will formally announce the cooperation between Partanna Bahamas and the government of the Bahamas at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt on Wednesday.
As a nation at the frontline of the climate dilemma, the Bahamas knows it’s “out of time,” Fox shared with CNN Business. “They don’t have time to wait for someone to save them.”
The former basketball player added: “Technology can turn the tide. And at Partanna, we have developed a solution that can change how the world builds.”
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Partanna and Its Natural Materials
Partanna is a company that uses natural and recycled raw materials such as desalination brine or steel slag – the by-product of steel production.
Moreover, it has no resins and plastics, and it prevents the pollution attached to cement production. Those types of pollution take up about 4% – 8% of global carbon emissions from man.
Meanwhile, brine use aids in solving the desalination industry’s increasing waste dilemma. It prevents toxic discharge to the ocean.
Most buildings naturally absorb carbon dioxide via carbonation – air CO2 reacts with concrete minerals. However, Partanna claims its homes pull carbon from the atmosphere faster due to its material density.
Furthermore, the material releases nearly no carbon during its creation.
A Partanna home – 1,250 square feet – will give out a “negligible amount” of CO2 during its creation. It also removes 22.5 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere following its manufacturing. Plus, it will be “fully carbon-negative within the product’s lifecycle,” per the company.
Relatively, the exact size of a standard cement home usually creates 70.2 tons of CO2 during manufacturing.
Saltwater use denotes that Partanna homes are also unsusceptible to seawater corrosion. Therefore, it is ideal for small island country residents like the Bahamas. Meaning it is more undemanding for homeowners to secure insurance.
The carbon proceeds from every home will be sold and utilized to support different social impact initiatives.
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Photo: Facts Five
