Recycled glass housing pioneer wins £5m boost to help tackle UK housing crisis

30 June 2026 , 11:46

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A Scottish company that makes panels from recycled glass has secured more than £5 million to help tackle the UK’s housing crisis.

Dumfries-based VASO Global takes waste glass and converts it into structural composite panels capable of delivering low-carbon, modular homes and buildings at speed.

The latest funding will enable the firm to develop manufacturing processes at its new 60,000-square-feet manufacturing site in Dumfries, creating up to 70 jobs within the next five years. The cash injection will also help the business find strategic routes to market over the next two years and plan for future investment.

It has secured £1.4m seed investment from PXN Ventures along with £621,000 from Scottish Enterprise. The company has also secured a £2m loan approved by Innovate UK Loans, a division of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and some £800,000 from ECO Group, which will be the delivery partner for the initial VASO Global build projects.

VASO by Eco had previously secured £330,000 from South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) to advance the commercial roll-out of its innovative recycled-glass building technology.

The firm’s innovation has been widely heralded as a potential solution to the housing crisis, following the Scottish government’s declaration of a national housing emergency in 2024. The company combines digital design, integrated manufacture and semi-autonomous construction, to provide low-carbon homes that are swift to construct, enabling it to respond to the UK’s need to build more homes more quickly.

The wider impact of the investment is also seen as strengthening the circular economy in the south of Scotland, turning waste materials into high-value products while supporting regional innovation, boosting manufacturing capability and delivering new jobs and skills opportunities.

Eddie Black, the firm’s co-founder and managing director, said: “We want to thank all those who have seen the potential in our technology. The latest investment from PXN Ventures and Scottish Enterprise, along with all our other funders, accelerates our journey to deliver a product which can genuinely reshape how homes are delivered - cleaner, faster and with far less waste.

“We would like to also thank professor Sean Smith at the University of Edinburgh for his reports and expert support, funded by the UKRI Centre for Net Zero High Density Buildings, which has helped underpin VASO’s plans and products to reach this stage of our development.”

Tom Croy, PXN Ventures investment director, said: “At PXN we back companies solving real problems, and the UK’s housing shortage is about as real as they get, which is why we’re proud to back Eddie and the team as they scale a genuinely sustainable way to build not just houses but other essential buildings.”

Derek Shaw, Scottish Enterprise director of entrepreneurship and investment, added: “Our investment support is focused on helping Scotland’s most innovative and ambitious companies to grow and scale, creating impactful economic change in regions across Scotland. VASO Global is a fantastic example of this, with its manufacturing approach having the potential to transform how low-carbon homes are delivered at pace and scale, while creating job opportunities and strengthening the South of Scotland’s manufacturing capability.”