Multidimensional analysis of the Chinese bamboo construction economy and assessment of supportive innovation ecosystems for structural engineered bamboo business models

Abstract

The construction sector is globally responsible for roughly 39% of the greenhouse gas emissions.
A significant share of the emissions is caused by conventional structural building materials, such as steel and concrete. Alternative, low carbon, engineered bamboo materials have comparable properties, but are not established yet. To support the establishment of these low carbon building materials, this study investigates suitable provinces in China for up-scalable engineered bamboo business models. After an extensive initial literature review, important factors to enable business models are defined, and laminated bamboo lumber (LBL) is chosen as the investigated structural construction product.
Consecutively, the thesis conducts a multidimensional analysis of the different provinces as innovation ecosystems, and of the Chinese bamboo economy. Quantitatively investigatedwere the fundamental bamboo resource availability, the current primary product input supply, the structural LBL production and export, as well as companies active in the industry. The factors like resources, and industry activity were examined in a literature review with cross-comparing different sources, while the registered companies were investigated with semi-manual data mining of a Chinese company registry website.

Further qualitatively investigated by a literature review were relevant policies, the legal framework, R&D activities, and environmental factors impacting the input resource. To match the structural LBL production data generated by the economy analysis, a demand side analysis for structural LBL was taken from a preceding semester project and adapted to new information.

The analysis used a top-down approach to assess future structural construction material demand of Chinese provinces in urban and rural areas. Based on different probable future urban densities, three scenarios for added building floor areas were predicted. LBL bamboo building typologies with different bamboo and concrete intensities per m² were developed, and combined to three scenarios depending on urban densities. The total LBL bamboo demands and related concrete demands per scenario were calculated.
Interpreting the quantitative and qualitative information of the multidimensional analysis, Jiangxi province is chosen as fitting innovation ecosystem for scalable LBL business models. The resulting structural LBL mass flow from the raw resource over production to the final application in the construction sector was modeled on the national level and provincial level, and a scenario for matching construction demand with structural LBL were developed.

Finally, the net carbon impact of upscaling the LBL applications in the construction sector, together with incremental improvements of the LBL material production was assessed.