Consistently reducingCO2 emissions is crucial to achieving our climate targets. Insulating buildings is a key factor here. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology Umsicht in Oberhausen, in collaboration with Proceram GmbH & Co. KG, have developed a sustainable and cost-effective mineral insulation material that far surpasses the insulation performance of Styrofoam and the like: compared to Styrofoam, half the layer thickness is sufficient to achieve the same insulation performance.
Three members of the development team were awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize 2023 for their work.
With an air content of 99.8%, aerogels are both the lightest and most effective insulating material in the world. As they are made from the harmless mineral raw material silicon dioxide, they are also sustainable and can be produced independently of petrochemical sources. The catch is that aerogels were previously far too expensive as insulation materials, as their conventional production is complex and time-consuming. For this reason, they have mainly been used in niche applications such as spacesuits.
Within six years, scientists from Fraunhofer and Proceram have jointly developed a new production process for aerogels that does not require any environmentally hazardous chemicals. In addition, the new process has reduced manufacturing costs by 70 % and the production time from more than ten to 2.5 hours.
