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Sector 01 — Business

The Builder

Chairman of Elixr. Founder of Etopia. £50M+ raised, connected net-zero buildings delivered across four continents before the age of thirty.

Enter

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Sector 02 — Technology

The Inventor

Seven frontier ventures under the Elixr banner — from ArcLive's sensor intelligence to Ignisium's recycled glass materials. Digital twins, real finance.

Explore

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Sector 03 — Philanthropy

The Advocate

UN 75th Anniversary feature. Advisor to DESNZ Construct Zero. World Bank–aligned work. Affordable net-zero housing for informal settlements.

Discover

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Sector 04 — Background

The Journey

Homeless at fifteen. Forbes 30 Under 30 by twenty-eight. A story told in the UN's 75th Anniversary book and at the London Film Awards.

Read

Sustainable Technologist · Founder · Chairman

Joseph Michael
Daniels

Building the infrastructure of a net-zero civilisation — one company, one continent, one system at a time.

Hover to explore

§ 01 / About

A life spent turning systemic problems into deployable technology.

Joseph Michael Daniels, photographed in London

Joseph · London

About — Joseph Michael Daniels

Joseph is a world-leading sustainable technologist and entrepreneur who has redefined the boundaries of affordable net-zero construction and climate technology.

By the age of 30, he had delivered some of the world's most advanced and affordable net-zero homes across four continents, raising over £40 million to scale sustainable infrastructure. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree, his work has been recognised by the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

In 2019, he delivered the world's most affordable net-zero home in Africa — a landmark project selected by the UN for its 75th Anniversary publication as a flagship innovation in replacing informal settlements with climate-resilient, affordable housing. In 2022, he stepped away from Etopia to launch Elixr, a next-generation smart-nations venture builder under the Planet 2030 vision.

Today, as Chairman of Elixr, Joseph drives systemic change — deploying climate technologies, scaling regenerative towns, and empowering the next generation of sustainability entrepreneurs.

§ 02 / Ventures

Seven companies, one operating system for smart nations.

Under the Elixr banner, Joseph co-founds and scales frontier technologies spanning data, decarbonisation, HVAC, materials and regeneration finance — unified by a shared namespace on Planet.Earth.

E Elixr

Smart-nations ecosystem. Home of Planet 2030. The connecting layer that brings the ventures below together under a unified namespace.

elixr.earth ↗

Elixr · In Motion Reel · 00 / 01

Building the smart nations of tomorrow.

Planet 2030
Seven Ventures · One OS
Planet.Earth

Group

Elixr · seven ventures

Vision

Planet 2030

Namespace

Planet.Earth

Role

Chairman · Co-Founder

Launched 2026

Elixr USA — taking the smart-cities framework transatlantic, with a connected roll-out across U.S. states.

New York · Saudi · UK · USA

Flagship Initiative · Elixr × MetaConnex

Reviving 30 Towns.
A national blueprint
for regeneration.

The Smart Regeneration Framework — a new national model for joined-up delivery and investment across the UK. Thirty towns selected on growth potential, proximity to urban centres, untapped land, community readiness and existing infrastructure. Zero upfront capital required from local authorities.

Stage 01

Town

In need of regeneration. Land identified, council engaged.

→

Stage 02 · Group

Elixr

Driving scalable, data-led regeneration across towns and regions.

→

Stage 03 · Framework

MetaConnex

Digital masterplans, OARPF, and strategic partner mobilisation.

Core strategic partners · planning, delivery & finance

Legal · Planning

Pinsent Masons

Expert legal guidance & planning counsel across the delivery framework.

Technical Delivery

AECOM

World-class infrastructure delivery & integrated technical capability.

Asset Management · MEPC

Federated Hermes

Institutional capital & strategic finance for patient, long-term regeneration.

From concept to delivery — integrated directly into the RIBA™ Plan of Work.

Stages 0 → 7 · Native Integration

Strategic Direction

MetaConnex

Core delivery partners & local authority engagement to outline OARPF.

Preparation & Brief

MetaConnex

Digital twin supports early feasibility, viability & financial planning.

Concept Design

MetaConnex

Human-centric placemaking & AI scenario modelling refine options.

Developed Design

MetaConnex STEPS

Integrated platform assesses planning, viability & financial performance.

Technical Design

MetaConnex Live Data Trust

MX BIM with Live Data Trust delivers intelligent, data-driven sustainable MEP design.

Construction

Ignisium

Ignisium panelised systems & live monitoring enable sustainable, efficient installation workflows.

Handover & Close Out

Senze ArcLive

Senze digital twin & ArcLive support audits, energy monitoring, insurance validation.

In Use

STEPS ArcLive

ArcLive & STEPS apps ensure energy, financial performance & lifestyle engagement.

Planning & Development

Construction & Delivery

Performance

A ArcLive

A real-time data and energy smart-cities sensor platform enabling green finance and live decarbonisation auditing.

arclive.com ↗ 03

S Senze

Digital-twin retrofit and decarbonisation solution. Turns existing building stock into a live, measurable asset class.

senze.co.uk ↗ 04

M MetaConnex

4D planning and finance platform for smart cities. Turns fragmented local plans into investable, shovel-ready projects.

metaconnex.com ↗ 05

L Live Data Trust

The UK's built-environment data-sharing infrastructure — a government-funded national data trust connecting planning, energy & carbon data at scale.

livedatatrust.com ↗

I Ignisium

Recycled-glass building materials. Diverting landfill streams into structural, architectural-grade inputs for regenerative construction.

Coming Soon ·

S Steps

An innovative regeneration financing vehicle — channelling institutional capital into towns that bonds and banks have forgotten.

Coming Soon ·

§ 03 / Impact

Policy, planet, and the people the market forgot.

The world's most affordable net-zero home built in Africa at £350 per sqm. A U.S. DOE award-winning design that saves over $100,000 in lifetime energy costs. Homes replacing informal settlements, recognised by the United Nations.

Joseph's philanthropic work sits at the intersection of housing, energy, and data — advising governments, supporting the World Bank's green building accreditation partner, and ensuring sustainable innovation reaches the communities that need it most.

Founded · Authored · Chaired

The Smart Towns & Regions APPG

An All-Party Parliamentary Group developed by Joseph to put data, digital infrastructure, and regeneration on the Westminster agenda. Bringing MPs, Lords, councils and industry together to shape the policy scaffolding for the UK's smart-cities future.

smarttownsandregions.org.uk →

RemitSmart cities, data & regeneration policy

ReachCross-party · Commons & Lords

RoleFounder & Secretariat

Advisor

UK Gov · DESNZ
Construct Zero

President

Built Environment
Data-Sharing Infrastructure

Special Advisor

Sintali · World Bank
Green Building Partner

Member

UK Business Council
for Sustainable Development

§ 05 / Journey

From homelessness at fifteen to global recognition.

A timeline of the convictions, crises, and commitments that built the body of work.

2009

Homeless at 15

Joseph experiences homelessness — a formative chapter that would later define his mission to make sustainable, dignified housing universally accessible.

2013

First company founded

Launches his first venture — the entrepreneurial foundation for everything that follows.

2015

First Net Zero School & Project Etopia

Founds Project Etopia with the mission of modular building systems that outperform Passivhaus. Delivers his first net-zero school.

2018

Namibia Building delivered

The Namibia project — Africa's first EDGE-certified, climate-resilient affordable housing prototype, later featured by the UN's 75th Anniversary book.

2019

U.S. Department of Energy Award

DOE-award-winning sustainable housing design saves $100,000+ in lifetime energy costs. SAP/EPC 104 benchmark broken — the world's first A+ rated home.

2020

Saudi Factory & Forbes 30 Under 30

Saudi manufacturing facility opens with SNASCO Holdings. Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for Manufacturing & Industry. SGBC's first net-zero performance home.

2022

Exits Etopia

Joseph transitions away from his founding venture, ready to build the next chapter of sustainable infrastructure.

2023

Founds ArcLive, Senze & Elixr

Three foundational ventures launch in a single year: ArcLive for live data & energy, Senze for retrofit intelligence, and Elixr — the connecting platform for smart-nations regeneration.

2024

Founds MetaConnex

Launches MetaConnex — 4D digital planning & finance platform for smart cities. Begins advisory work with DESNZ, Sintali and the Department for Business & Trade.

2025

Founds Live Data Trust

Establishes Live Data Trust — the UK government-funded built-environment data-sharing infrastructure. Joseph serves as President.

2026

Founds Ignisium & Steps · Launches Elixr USA

Two new frontier ventures: Ignisium (recycled-glass building materials) and Steps (regeneration finance). Elixr USA launches — taking the smart-cities framework transatlantic.

§ 07 / Testimonials

Trusted by national and global partners.

Partnerships between councils and the private sector have always been the driving force behind masterplan-scale regeneration. This changes the game — it removes the cost barrier, delivers certainty on viability, and works anywhere.

Tom Stanley

MD of Strategy & Investment · MetaConnex
Previously Senior Director, Head of Development & Planning · MEPC / Federated Hermes

AECOM is committed to creating thriving, future-ready places. Our partnership with Elixr and MetaConnex is about bringing together deep technical capability with innovation and local delivery — equipping towns to unlock lasting economic, environmental and community value.

Jonathon Moore

Director · AECOM

We often see regeneration plans fail to materialise due to fragmented structures and funding challenges. Elixr and MetaConnex's model is capable of addressing those issues head-on — making regeneration viable, scalable, and investment-ready.

Tom Johnson

Partner · Head of UK Residential & Mixed-Use
Pinsent Masons

Joseph is one of the most ambitious operators I've worked with in built-environment innovation. Senze is the kind of platform the industry has been waiting for — and Joseph's the right person to be building it.

David Partridge

Co-Founder & Chairman · Senze
Former Chairman of Argent (King's Cross)

The Builder

The Inventor

The Advocate

The Journey

Joseph Michael
Daniels

A life spent turning systemic problems into deployable technology.

A body of work measured in capital, continents & records broken.

Seven companies, one operating system for smart nations.

Building the smart nations of tomorrow.

Reviving 30 Towns.
A national blueprint
for regeneration.

From concept to delivery — integrated directly into the RIBA™ Plan of Work.

Policy, planet, and the people the market forgot.

The Smart Towns & Regions APPG

In the press.

From homelessness at fifteen to global recognition.

Homeless at 15

First company founded

First Net Zero School & Project Etopia

Namibia Building delivered

U.S. Department of Energy Award

Saudi Factory & Forbes 30 Under 30

Exits Etopia

Founds ArcLive, Senze & Elixr

Founds MetaConnex

Founds Live Data Trust

Founds Ignisium & Steps · Launches Elixr USA

Built with world leaders.

Trusted by national and global partners.

Let's build the next one.

The Builder

The Inventor

The Advocate

The Journey

Joseph Michael Daniels

A life spent turning systemic problems into deployable technology.

A body of work measured in capital, continents & records broken.

Seven companies, one operating system for smart nations.

Building the smart nations of tomorrow.

Reviving 30 Towns. A national blueprintfor regeneration.

From concept to delivery — integrated directly into the RIBA™ Plan of Work.

Policy, planet, and the people the market forgot.

The Smart Towns & Regions APPG

In the press.

From homelessness at fifteen to global recognition.

Homeless at 15

First company founded

First Net Zero School & Project Etopia

Namibia Building delivered

U.S. Department of Energy Award

Saudi Factory & Forbes 30 Under 30

Exits Etopia

Founds ArcLive, Senze & Elixr

Founds MetaConnex

Founds Live Data Trust

Founds Ignisium & Steps · Launches Elixr USA

Built with world leaders.

Trusted by national and global partners.

Let's build the next one.

Joseph Michael
Daniels

Reviving 30 Towns.
A national blueprint
for regeneration.