BOZEMAN, Mont. - Headwaters Composites (Three Forks, MT) has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Montana State University EPICenter to develop its "Wallite" building material as part of a "green building" technology development program. The material is a lightweight fiber-reinforced concrete composite with a large recycled waste material content. Special properties of Wallite that make it particularly attractive in construction applications include its ability to be readily cut, drilled, and nailed, while providing good insulation and resistance to chemical degradation in a very lightweight concrete product. Widespread use of the product could lead to significant savings in construction, energy and materials transportation costs, while providing new markets for waste materials currently having little or no recycling potential.

The MSU EPICenter is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Commerce through its National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This national demonstration project is to develop "green building" products and systems, particularly those produced from industrial or agricultural waste streams or by recycling pre- and post-consumer products, as a showcase for sustainable products and integrated building systems. Headwaters Composites specializes in the development and testing of advanced composite materials, including extensive work in composite turbine blades for Department of Energy and EPSCoR renewable energy projects. The company received substantial technical and facilitative assistance for the project from MSU TechLink, a technology transfer and commercialization partnership at MSU serving industry in a multi-state region.

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