Drywall Startup Company Wants to Build Innovative Factory

A San Francisco startup recently emerged from "stealth" operations, announcing its plans to produce a more eco-friendly variety of drywall. 

The company, called CleanBoard, said it is raising funds to build drywall factor in California’s Mojave desert that will use solar heat for industrial processes (SHIP).

The factory will harness heat from the sun–similar to solar thermal power–but the heat will be used in the manufacturing process, rather than for electricity production. 

Drywall production is an extremely energy intensive process, reportedly accounting for 1% of U.S. energy use. 

Until the new factory is built, CleanBoard intends to ship drywall from China, but said it will purchase carbon offsets so that the building material will qualify for points under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. 

CleanBoard also said it intends to make its product from recycled materials. The company intends to gather calcium sulfate–the raw material used to make gypsum for drywall–from coal-fired power plants, which generate the material through the scrubbing of sulfur emissions.

CleanBoard also plans to sign contracts with builders to return scrap drywall. Estimates suggest 15% of drywall is wasted in the building process. 

So far the company is self-funded and has the employees in the U.S. and 12 in China.