The Bay Area’s demand for zero-net energy construction methods has drawn Quebec-based BONE Structure to San Francisco. The company plans to offer light steel frame construction technology to make assembly faster and cheaper.

US expansion is being led by the company’s VP of business development Charles Bovet. He identified San Francisco as the ideal gateway into wider America. “California was an obvious choice for our first US location,” he says. “It is the home of innovation and the birthplace of world-changing smart technologies."

Reducing construction and energy costs are key motivators for builders to adopt new technologies. Each steel shell can be assembled with a battery-powered drill and one kind of self-tapping screw. The net result is a substantial savings in labor. The company says the structures are compliant with California’s 2020 mandate for buildings to be zero-net energy. Solar panel installation can turn the structures into energy producers.

Pre-fabricated home building has not seen wide adoption in the United States. New energy regulation and changing consumer tastes, however, could mark an explosion in these construction methods.