AeGiS: the urban architecture revolution powered by robotic LFAM

The Additive Eco-engineered Green Insulating Structures (AeGiS) project develops high-performance modular green panels conceived as active components for building envelopes and urban infrastructure. The 2×2 m modules can be installed on façades or configured as self-supporting urban shelters, contributing to the mitigation of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and improving thermal insulation performance.

Modular green infrastructures against urban heat islands

The geometries, developed through computational design by RD-29, maximize active surface area, water retention, and natural ventilation, integrating embedded irrigation systems through an ecodesign-driven approach focused on environmental performance, modularity, and lifecycle optimization. The result is a modular, scalable, and technologically advanced solution that combines materials engineering, additive manufacturing, sustainability, and circular design methodologies into a single system for next-generation urban architecture.

AeGiS is part of the European DeremCo project and involves Caracol collaborating with innovation leaders, such as FiberEUse Tech, RD-29 as Ecodesign/LCA expert and project’s applicant, Slovenian Faculty of Polymer Technology, and Politecnico di Milano, with the goal of valorizing recycled composites and optimizing environmental performance throughout the product lifecycle.

How robotic LFAM can regenerate the urban landscape

The technological enabler behind AeGiS is Caracol’s robotic LFAM platform, Heron AM, developed to manufacture the panels through advanced large-scale additive manufacturing processes. More than a robotic extrusion system, Heron AM is a fully integrated ecosystem combining proprietary hardware, software, advanced process control, and extensive material expertise.

At the core of Caracol’s approach is the commitment to enabling more sustainable manufacturing workflows by integrating recycled and recyclable materials into industrial production processes. This vision played a key role in the AeGiS project, where Heron AM successfully processed an innovative composite material designed to combine structural performance with environmental responsibility.

Caracol’s Application Engineering and R&D Materials teams managed the DfAM development, prototyping, and qualification of a composite based on rPETG reinforced with 20% recycled glass fiber (rGF), developed within the DeremCo project using end-of-life wind turbine blades. The integration of robotic LFAM, advanced process control, and sustainable materials enabled the production of high-performance architectural components while significantly reducing waste and raw material consumption, demonstrating the potential of circular composites for next-generation urban architecture.

DeremCo: enabling circularity in composite materials

AeGiS was launched through the first Open Call of the European project DeremCo (DE & REMANUFACTURING for Circular Economy Investments in the Composite Industry). This initiative brings together 30 partners across seven countries to develop a systemic, demand-driven solution for reusing end-of-life composite materials in high-value applications.

Through pilot mechanical and thermo-chemical demanufacturing processes combined with a demand-driven approach, DeremCo aims to transform the composite value chain into a circular, investment-ready system that fosters more sustainable industrial practices. After more than three years of development, the project is expected to conclude by summer 2026, representing a potential turning point for accelerating the industrial adoption of circular composite materials and scaling sustainable manufacturing practices across multiple sectors.

Within this vision, Caracol’s Heron AM ecosystem acts as the catalyst for circular innovation, while RD-29 contributes the environmental design methodology and lifecycle-oriented development approach that guide the integration between sustainability targets, architectural performance, and manufacturing feasibility. By converging hardware, software, and material science into a unified workflow, Caracol transforms recycled composites into qualified, high-performance solutions—turning the promise of upcycling into a scalable reality for next-generation urban environments.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s ERDF under grant agreement No 101084037. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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