Passive House Accelerator is pleased to announce that Durra Panel USA has joined the Accelerator community as a Champion Sponsor. Durra Panel is a compressed straw wall and ceiling panel that replaces conventional drywall or can be installed as a complete wall or ceiling system, replacing traditional stud-and-drywall assemblies and conventional ceiling construction. The panel consists of reclaimed wheat and/or rice straw, compressed using heat and pressure to form a dense, solid core. The result is a high-performance building panel that combines exceptional fire resistance and acoustic performance with thermal resistance and thermal mass, contributing to comfortable, low-energy buildings with a reduced environmental footprint.
Durra Panel USA Joins Passive House Accelerator as a Champion Sponsor
Like other bio-based building materials, Durra Panel stores carbon captured by the straw as it grows. For every square meter of Durra Panel, approximately 31 kg (68 lbs.) of CO₂ is removed from the atmosphere during the growth of the straw, with approximately 8.5 kg (19 lbs.) of carbon stored within the finished panel. Its third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration reports a cradle-to-gate global warming potential of approximately −19.3 kg CO₂e/m² for modules A1–A3, reflecting biogenic carbon uptake as well as impacts associated with raw materials, transport, and manufacturing. Durra Panel also has a low embodied energy of just 12.6 MJ/m² across its manufacturing process. For Passive House projects, where embodied carbon is increasingly part of the conversation in addition to operational energy, Durra Panel offers an opportunity to incorporate lower-embodied-carbon, bio-based materials into high-performance assemblies.
Durra Panel’s material composition can also contribute to healthier indoor environments. The straw core is natural, non-toxic, 99.9% VOC-free, and formed without added chemical binders or resins. The panels are also 100% compostable at the end of their service life.
The exterior of ECHO.1.
A living area within ECHO.1.
Durra Panel installation during construction.
The material's relevance to high-performance construction can be seen at ECHO.1 in Hawthorn, Melbourne, an eight-townhouse development certified to Passive House Classic and Australia's first build-to-sell Passive House townhouse development. Durra Panel was incorporated continuously around the walls and ceilings as part of the high-performance envelope, adding thermal resistance across the framing while helping reduce the effects of thermal bridging and support more consistent interior surface temperatures.
The project used approximately 2,486.5 m² of Durra Panel, with the project calculation reporting approximately 77 tonnes of biogenic CO₂ stored in the installed material. The project team also reports energy use up to 70% below an average Victorian home, an outcome of the complete Passive House design, which combines a carefully detailed envelope with high-performance glazing, heat-recovery ventilation, solar and battery systems, and other strategies. ECHO.1 demonstrates how a bio-based building material can be incorporated at meaningful scale into a certified Passive House development while supporting contemporary architecture and demanding performance requirements.
While Durra Panel is relatively new to the North American market, the technology behind it has a long and proven history. Compressed straw panels using this manufacturing process have been produced since 1954, with the technology continuing to evolve over more than 70 years. Today, Durra Panel has been used in thousands of projects worldwide across residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial applications, demonstrating the versatility of the system across a wide range of building types. Durra Panel USA now brings this proven building system to North America, supported by decades of manufacturing experience and technical expertise.
Durra Panel USA works closely with architects, engineers, builders, and developers from specification through installation. Design teams can access support with product specification, detailing, and system integration, while contractors receive practical guidance on handling, installation, and construction sequencing. By providing responsive technical support throughout the project lifecycle, Durra Panel USA helps project teams confidently specify and integrate Durra Panel into their projects. As a Champion Sponsor, Durra Panel USA also looks forward to contributing to the Accelerator's educational programming and sharing practical knowledge about bio-based materials, embodied carbon, material health, and their role in high-performance construction.
“Partnering with Passive House Accelerator is a natural fit for Durra Panel USA,” said Chief Revenue Officer Maria Giatrelis. “We see this partnership as an opportunity to connect with and contribute to a community that is advancing more energy-efficient, resilient, and lower-carbon buildings. Durra Panel brings together many of the qualities this community is looking for in building materials: high performance, lower embodied carbon, natural materials, and healthier indoor environments. We’re excited to help advance those priorities.”
“We’re seeing a major shift in how the high-performance building community thinks about materials,” said Passive House Accelerator Director Zack Semke. “There is a huge interest in natural materials like straw because they store carbon, they’re non-toxic, and they can still provide excellent thermal, acoustic, and fire performance. Durra Panel is particularly exciting because it brings those characteristics together in a building system with decades of real-world use. I’m very excited to welcome Durra Panel USA to the Accelerator community.”
Passive House Accelerator Founder Michael Ingui said, “Durra Panel USA is manufacturing a product that sits at the intersection of high-performance building and low embodied carbon, which is where our audience is heading. Practitioners are hungry for bio-based solutions, particularly when it comes to drywall replacements. I think both our community and Durra Panel USA will benefit from this partnership.”
To learn more about Durra Panel USA and its applications in high-performance construction, you can check out their page on the Accelerator site or visit durrapanelusa.com.
