SCIC ielo

Ielo is a French cooperative specializing in the manufacture of bio-based insulation from chopped straw. Founded in March 2021 as a SCIC (Cooperative Society of Collective Interest) by 15 shareholders from the agricultural and building sectors, ielo is led by Nicolas Rabuel, managing director. The cooperative now has nearly 170 shareholders, including farmers, architects, design offices and builders. Its head office is based in Bonneuil-Matours, in the Vienne, with a management office in Limoges. Ielo's core business is the development of a territorial industry linking cereal farming to the building sector, from collecting wheat straw to transforming it into ready-to-install insulation. Production is handled by Brin d'Or, the industrial subsidiary of the Tricherie agricultural cooperative, at a first site in Bonneuil-Matours with a capacity of 12,000 tonnes per year. The company aims to limit straw transport to less than 250 km between field and site. The range is built around Phi®, an insulation made of 100% chopped wheat straw, additive-free, compostable and biodegradable, marketed since 2023. It is installed by injection, pouring or blowing, with a thermal conductivity of 0.046 W/(m.K) according to ACERMI and a phase shift greater than 13 hours for 30 cm of insulation. The range has recently expanded with a straw granule dedicated to renders. Ielo obtained a “case a” ATEx for installation in timber-frame walls and facades, as well as ACERMI certification, and publishes EPDs for its products. The cooperative is a member of several professional networks, including the Réseau Français de la Construction Paille (RFCP), Fibois Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the Odéys cluster, the SCOP BTP and the Bâtiment Biosourcé collective.