Meet the Innovator creating 3D printed concrete structures

Stopping to talk to a man living on the streets of Birmingham proved a pivotal moment in the careers of Natalie Wadley and her husband.

Eight years ago, the pair had just presented on the merits of 3D printing to an event hosted by Innovate UK and Luke – leaving the building alone – was stopped in his tracks by a homeless man crying, unsure where he would sleep that night.

Luke felt helpless, but inspired. “He rang me from the car to say he’s spoken to a homeless guy, and that we have to find a way to 3D print affordable housing and make homelessness a thing of the past,” recalls Natalie.

“We created an advisory board, sold our home and moved into rented accommodation, using the small amount of money from the sale to buy us time. From that moment, we set out to out-print poverty.”

But the affordable housing ambition didn’t quite go to plan. An architect, structural engineer and contractor from the Netherlands were about to start on four 3D printed homes in Gloucestershire to demonstrate its time-saving potential; but Covid struck and the project stalled.

One of their advisory board members, Mark Austin – an innovation director for a construction firm – told Natalie and Luke to target the infrastructure sector and promote more fully the sustainability and carbon reducing benefits of 3D printing.

Taking forward the tech for rail and water

Within four months, their firm ChangeMaker 3D picked up two opportunities: one with United Utilities to print wastewater storage tanks; and a second with High Speed 2 which led to a contract to print temporary retaining walls outside Euston station.

In parallel, Natalie had been approached by Amey Rail and Transport for Wales about 3D printing a freestanding toilet structure for rail stations that was cheaper and easier to install than using conventional construction materials. She also heard about the Clean Futures Accelerator in the West Midlands, which was looking to fund SMEs developing greener transport technologies. The programme is led by Connected Places Catapult and supported by research and technology organisation BCIMO.

ChangeMaker 3D joined the programme just over a year ago and focused its efforts on refining its printing technology and integrating rainwater harvesting and solar panels on the roof.

“We wouldn’t have built the pod without the Clean Futures Accelerator, because we would not have had the resources otherwise,” she says. “The programme also helped reduce risk for the customer, gave us freedom to test things, and provided us with access to Network Rail and contractors to show how the printing technology can have a role in rail.”

 Natalie Wadley, Co-founder of ChangeMaker 3D

The company’s pod was installed at the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre in Dudley and the next step, Natalie says, is to “bring it to life in a live rail environment”. Beyond its railway application, she says placing two pods together could create a small house with a bedroom and kitchenette for those living on the streets.

At the end of 2024, the company joined the Diatomic India Accelerator along with six other firms from the West Midlands, to promote innovation from the region and generate commercial opportunity.

“I'm very excited about what we can do in India,” says Natalie. “I see us taking forward the water tanks, flood defence walls and the toilet pod. We're getting a lot of market strategy and business coaching from the programme, and there is excitement around what we're doing.”

Curating a sense of fairness

Natalie was born in Rotherham to a mining family who relocated to Gloucester when she was young, and grew up in a deprived part of the city. “I started to observe poverty, and realised that education was how I was going to lift myself free.”

She created a school newspaper while still at primary school. “Looking back, I guess I wanted to encourage people to express themselves and talk about the things that mattered.”

Natalie also realised how some friends were not treated equally depending on their background or if they suffered disability – “and that really moved me”. As she progressed through secondary school, Natalie admits to being “hard work, and not a conformist” and would speak up “passionately for what I believed in”.

While studying A levels, she held three part-time jobs including a home care assistant. After completing school, she worked for a charity helping young people with complex needs.

Natalie developed a travel training scheme for those with learning difficulties going to and from school and college. With 12 weeks of training in using buses and trains, she demonstrated how individuals can lead more independent lives.

Her next career move came after the printing company her husband worked for wanted to create a foundation to leave a legacy for the local community. Natalie began exploring how they could unlock social value from their spending.

She developed a programme called ‘No Limits’ to mentor 40 young people over three months each year, setting them up for future employment. The pair later stepped back from the business to focus on 3D printing; something Natalie was happy to do as she could see the social value.

They heard that 3D printing of concrete was starting to emerge in Europe, but could not see anyone taking it forward in the UK, so spoke about the subject at housing conferences. “We quickly found ourselves as thought leaders on 3D concrete printing,” recalls Natalie.

“Some great advice I once heard was to use the phrase ‘we are’ rather than ‘we will’. By saying ‘we are’ concrete printing meant it was going to happen.”

Aiming for a lasting legacy

ChangeMaker 3D is currently working with sector specialists to develop a national skills framework for 3D concrete printing. “The future construction workforce is going to be digitally focused, but there's no point us pushing all this change for mass adoption if nobody knows how to interact with the technology, or stay safe around it.”

Natalie says her company’s success will be measured in the impact it makes to the environment and society, and not just in terms of making money.

And the ambition to 3D print affordable homes to help tackle homelessness is still very much alive. “We are very excited about where the toilet pod can take us, because at the end of the day we are showing what we can build. The pod takes us one step closer to launching an affordable home as a pod,” Natalie says.

“As an entrepreneur, I would not commit to starting a business that does not have the values of sustainability and social value at its core, and the company allows both. Our business model is about winning, but in the right way.”

Read about the Clean Futures Accelerator and the Diatomic India Accelerator

Clean Futures is being led by Connected Places Catapult in collaboration with the BCIMO, Coventry University and CU Services Limited. It is part of the wider West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, funded by UK Government and delivered by Innovate UK, which is designed to bolster the region’s innovation and R&D capability and spark commercial growth and investment.