Kiln-free recycled tile startup agrees pilot deal with major UK supplier

A Manchester-based startup that makes ceramic-like tiles from waste without needing an energy-hungry kiln has teamed up with one of the UK’s biggest tile suppliers to launch a pilot project to scale up the technology. Dekiln, run by the biomaterials engineer Aled Roberts, is joining forces with Johnson Tiles to set up a trial manufacturing site in Stoke-on-Trent , the historic home of British ceramics. The tiles developed by Roberts and a team of four look like conventional ceramic tiles, but are made from recycled plaster or gypsum waste and plant-based binders, and are cured (hardened) on a drying rack at 35C. The technology does away with energy-intensive kilns where tiles are fired at up to 1,000C, saving more than 90% in energy costs while containing more than 95% recycled content. Roberts founded the company in 2021 after experimenting in his cellar with waste materials such as brick dust and kitchen ingredients such as chickpea juice as a binder. The announcement of the pilot project comes days after the government announced a £120m support package for the industry after a number of ceramics companies went bust in recent years because of soaring energy costs. The number of ceramics companies in North Staffordshire has fallen from 137 in 2018 to 123 in 2024. Stoke-on-Trent city council said last week that the local industry had been hit hard by soaring gas prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. “The UK ceramics sector is facing a hammer blow. …