3D printing has already made huge waves in the construction industry—there are 3D printed houses and buildings all over the world, an abundance of research on 3D printing materials for construction, and a growing number of 3D printing construction companies entering the market. Now, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund is joining the movement by backing 14Trees, a 3D printing construction company founded in Africa. With this decision, Amazon joined 14Tree’s founding investor, Holcim, a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, and British International Investment (BII) in this exclusive Series A-1 investment. The joint investment will permit the rollout of 3D printing in construction and support 14Trees’ transformation from a pioneer in Africa to a globally facing prop-tech start-up.
With this investment, 14Trees aims to improve construction speed and sustainability while becoming a global player in low-carbon 3D printing solutions across Europe and the U.S. According to 14Trees, the funding will help them enhance the performance and profitability of project developers, owners and asset managers. Additionally, they claim that the investment will revolutionize the construction industry, paving the way for state-of-the-art low-carbon data centers, large-scale buildings and utilities in Europe and the U.S. markets.
The world’s first 3D printed school, built in Malawi by 14Trees
Furthermore, 14Trees will deploy its proprietary 3D printing technology, including printers, software, and sustainable ink materials, to the U.S. and Europe, contributing to pilot projects with Holcim and Amazon. Francois Perrot, Managing Director at 14Trees, explained his vision for the funding. “We are excited to welcome Amazon as an investor and are delighted by Holcim’s follow-on investment and continued support. This marks a key milestone, conviction of 14 Trees’ concept for delivering 3D-printed homes, schools, and commercial real estate.”
14Trees was founded in 2016 as a joint venture between Holcim and BII to accelerate sustainable construction solutions in Africa. Since 2020, 14Trees has championed 3D printing construction on the continent. The company’s journey has been full of firsts: they built Africa’s first 3D printed building (a house in Malawi), the world’s first 3D printed school (also in Malawi), and the first IFC Edge Advanced Certification home, which complies with high energy performance metrics.
In 2023, 14Trees launched its proprietary 3D printing technology, IROKO, the first 3D construction printer built in Africa. IROKO is a large-scale printer designed for multi-story construction and compliant with low-carbon inks. The printer also reduces a builder’s carbon footprint by 70 percent compared to traditional technologies, evidence that sustainability is at the cornerstone of 14Tree’s work.
14Trees construction site
Phoebe Wang, Investment Partner at Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, exclaimed her enthusiasm for the partnership. “We are delighted to invest in 14Trees, a tech-enabled business scaling an innovative technology from Africa to the world. 14Trees will collaborate with Amazon in advancing our strategic objective to deploy new sustainable materials and methods for low-carbon building.” To learn more about 14Trees and their investors, visit their website here.
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*All Photo Credits: 14Trees