Dutch startup Drystack raises €2M to scale circular brick facades
What's the deal? Rotterdam-based startup DrystackDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised €2 million to scale up its circular brick-facade system. TBI Zebra and ROM InWestDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → joined as new strategic shareholders, while existing investors reinvested.
What's the endgame? Drystack has developed a patented dry-stacking system that replaces traditional mortar with a click mechanism. Bricks are stacked dry, then detached and reused at the end of a building's life — harvested rather than demolished.
Why now? The system addresses two pressures in Dutch construction: a structural shortage of skilled bricklayers and the push to reuse materials. Mortar-bound bricks are hard to reclaim, while Drystack's facades retain their value as a raw material for the next building.
The company says its system builds up to 25% faster, works largely regardless of weather, and cuts environmental impact by roughly 30% versus traditional brickwork, per the Nationale Milieudatabase.
What's the money for? Drystack will use the funding to develop its machinery and factory and to strengthen its organisation, turning pilot projects into repeatable production. It works with brickmakers De Rijswaard and EngelsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to supply bricks, and its system fits most manufacturers' bricks and various backing structures.
For TBI, the value lies in the partnership. Several of its companies — including HazenbergDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, ERA Contour, Koopmans, J.P. van Eesteren, and Synchroon — will seek projects to apply the system. "It is impressive that Drystack has managed to combine both a practically ingenious solution and a promising sustainable revenue model," said Erwin van den Hove, director of project and plan development at J.P. van Eesteren (translated from Dutch).
ROM InWest cited scalability as a draw. "What appeals to us most is that Drystack links sustainable impact to a strong revenue model," said Max Terheggen, investment manager at ROM InWest (translated from Dutch).
The signal: The round is a practical scale-up bet on circular construction, not proof that reusable brick facades have gone mainstream. The key test is whether Drystack can produce reliably and economically across projects.
Read more: persportaal.anp.nl
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
