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Within the EXEP3D project, which focuses on the development of 3D concrete printing technologies and sustainable concrete mixes at TTK University of Applied Sciences, an important milestone has recently been reached: the first successful 3D concrete printing using a mix developed at TTK and based on locally sourced oil shale ash.
“It was a pleasure to mark the end of the project’s first year with a very significant achievement — the successful 3D concrete printing of a structure using a mix developed in-house at TTK,” said Aivars Alt, Senior Lecturer at TTK’s Institute of Civil Engineering and EXEP3D Project Manager.
The main component of the developed mix is local oil shale ash. “We were positively surprised by the excellent performance of Estonian oil shale ash as a component in 3D concrete printing,” Alt explained. “At the beginning of the development work, we were prepared to look for suitable solutions abroad, but the fact that we found an appropriate base material in Estonia — and can effectively valorise oil shale ash through this mix — also adds a strong environmental and sustainability dimension to the solution.”
According to Alt, the developed mix creates favourable conditions for strengthening cooperation with industry partners. “Now that the laboratory testing phase has been successfully completed, our next milestone is to create the prerequisites for large-scale production of the concrete mix,” he added.
EXEP3D project focuses on advancing 3D concrete printing technologies and the design of sustainable concrete mixes, with the aim of increasing TTK’s scientific and technological capacity in cooperation with leading European universities. TTK’s strategic goal is to become a leading competence centre for 3D concrete printing in the Baltic States.
The TTK project team includes visiting researcher Hillar Joon, Associate Professor Julija Šommet, Laboratory Engineer Gustav Gerretz, and Senior Lecturer Aivars Alt from the Institute of Civil Engineering. The project is supervised by Dr Shravan Muthukrishnan, Head of the Concrete Printing Research Group at TU Dresden.
Running from autumn 2024 to autumn 2027, the EXEP3D project is led by TTK University of Applied Sciences and implemented in cooperation with Eindhoven University of Technology (the Netherlands) and TU Dresden (Germany). Over the course of the project, study visits, seminars, competitions, and the publication of new scientific results will be carried out to support innovation in construction technologies.
