He makes natural stone in a few hours

At the foot of the old mill of Sissy (Aisne), rehabilitated by him, François Waendendries, 77, actuates, at the bottom of a dark room, which looks like a baker. But by leaning over the greyish mixture turning in the bowl, you quickly realize the indigestible character of the preparation. “I recognize that it can leave a weight on the stomach,” smiles the septuagenarian. François Waendendries does not explore a gluten -free brioche recipe, but makes natural stone. “There, I’m going to make you a limestone as we find in the Dunkirk region,” he continues in a trivial tone, manipulating his products.

For almost twenty years, this former architect and sculptor has developed, year after year, a unique process in the world allowing to recreate, in accelerated, the process of stones formation. Called “lithosynthesis”, this technique consists of the production of a stone paste by a chemical assembly. “It is a balance between different minerals. I dissolve them, I complete them with others, and these minerals will weld at the level of the atom ”thanks to a liquid of its manufacture, he explains.

If the exact recipe of this inductor – the magic solution – is kept secret, the founder of Minealithe said he was inspired by the laws of anatomy: the human body also makes “stones” like teeth and kidney stones; But he has also taken up processes used through history, from Egyptian civilization. During his two decades of research, man experienced around 15,000 formulas. In the corners of his workshop, there are all types of stones – limestone, slate or granite. “The possibilities are gigantic. We manage to have equal resistance, even superior to concrete, ”smiles the old architect.

Recycled materials

Unlike cement requiring a mixture of rare resources – fresh water and seabed sand -, the mineality process makes it possible to opt for less exhaustible resources. “Thanks to our formula, we manage to make stone with desert sand and sea water,” says the business manager. Like the slate, the minerals used are recycled in the majority of cases, and the production of CO2 is almost zero, in the absence of calcination. A very important point for him, “cooled” by the use of polluting materials in the building and public works sector.

The story could have stopped there: the craftsman would have been satisfied to use the stone thus created to give life to his sculptures – at most making some local craftsmen enjoy. But François Waendendries saw further. In 2021, on behalf of the NGO World entrepreneurshe flew away with a small team in northeast of Senegal, 40 liters of his inductor in the suitcases, in order to test his product – successfully – in the construction of onions. A life -size experiment with a view to the next step: industrialization.

Great perspectives

Let us leave the small village of Sissy and its mill for the industrial zone of Saint-Quentin, a fifteen minute drive. There, throne in the premises of the carrier Houtch – where the Minealithe company has installed its headquarters – a giant and brand new bakery robot. The places are spacious and well served on this multimodal platform located at the crossroads of Hauts-de-France motorways. “You can make two tonnes of inductor per day of seven hours. If we want to do the double tomorrow, we can create two positions, ”explains Didier Simon, Managing Director of Minealithe since 2022, so convinced by François Waendendries that he worked … for free the first year. In the premises, his colleague Thierry Geiste who directs the factory continues the phone calls to future customers. Everyone is convinced: it will work.

Everything is therefore ready … to one detail: funding. If Minealithe has funds thanks to research contracts and Using the Hauts-de-France region and Public investment bank (BPI), it remains to convince private investors, chilly at the idea of putting their balls in an unparalleled innovation. But around François Waendendries, the minealithe team believes it hard as Pierre. And stands ready to build a sustainable sector, made in Hauts-de-France.