Energy analysis and lifecycle impact of a net zero shipping container based micro-factory facility

Innovative solutions are required to address the pressing needs of dealing with the huge amounts of plastic waste in our society. One of these solutions has been proposed by Re3D, who have designed the Gigalab, a self-contained unit designed to process plastic waste into recycled pellets to be used in large scale 3D printing of items. The entire printing facility is to be housed inside a used shipping container to minimize its environmental impact. This article examines the estimated thermal performance and full life cycle assessment of the shipping container factory, as well as potential design modifications to optimize the design. Building performance analysis was undertaken for the Gigalab design using Open Studio to determine whether a net-zero energy containerized solution is possible while maintaining the Gigalab as a comfortable place to work. Heat dissipation from electrical equipment within the lab, which is highly uncertain, was found to be the dominant factor in estimated energy requirements. The life cycle impact of the used shipping container was compared to a prefabricated design, and with only considering 50% allocation of the GWP of the shipping container to this use (assuming the rest goes to its previous life), the version 1 design was 5% lower than the prefabricated design. The use of solar power on the container would reduce the life cycle GWP by up to 25%.