Sustainable construction/insulating material - Method for manufacturing a construction or insulating material

Concrete parts are usually manufactured with fiber concrete, since adding fibers facilitates the setting process. The fibers bear the tensile stress, preventing cracks. In a set part, the fibers complement the concrete in bearing tensile stress. The fiber material can be steel, plastic, or glass. Artificially manufactured materials, based on polystyrene or polyurethane, for instance, are often used to insulate buildings against heat loss. Insulating materials made of mineral wool or naturally occurring materials such as wood shavings, wood fibers, perlite, or expanded glass and clay are also used. 
The fibers and the insulating materials involve technically complex manufacture and high primary energy consumption, both severe disadvantages. Some of the raw materials are also not available everywhere. So the University of Bonn has developed a material that improves on existing solutions in both ecology and energy consumption. It does so with plant components from renewable raw materials such as the miscanthus, commonly known as silvergrass. These plants can be grown almost anywhere, require very little of their environment, and absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2). Other plant species offer similar potential.