CarbIP Life Project Newsletter – Issue 5 January 2025

Halfway there! Our approach to creating circular buildings

The impact of CO2 emissions on the Construction industry in the European Union accounts for 40% of energy demand. This impact highlights this sector as a critical area for implementing energy efficiency measures and researching sustainable offerings to mitigate environmental damage by promoting a sustainable future. At CarbIP we aim to reduce the environmental impact of buildings by developing sustainable design blow-in insulation materials and a digital tool that empowers our teams to make sustainable conscious choices, bringing us closer to Net Zero. Our focus is on developing circular and sustainable insulation solutions that replace traditional PIR and PUR materials, known for their negative environmental impact.

So far, we have laid a solid foundation for success by:

• Conducting trials with diverse types of blow-in insulation materials, identifying the right ratio with Aerogel to achieve the optimal thermal insulation performance like existing solid insulation materials.
• A fully running production unit of aerogel-incorporated blow-in insulation materials having a production capacity of 700 L for fiber material and 300 L for EPS. The next phase, which will generate 10 times the previous output will be finalized very soon.
• The environmental impact of the new insulation materials is being tested under Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to understand feasibility, sustainability, and effectiveness.
• Investigating the digital tool to support our customers further, looking at leveraging data collection, user interface design, and software requirements to provide optimal solutions.
• Recycling/Reuse testing is started up with a blow-in supplier
• Technical performance tests like (hydro)thermal, acoustical, and fire characteristics are being defined and discussed with potential testing partners

Next Steps

1. Environmental Product Declaration (EPD): Continue evaluating the impact of our new aerogel-based insulation materials.
2. Display events, to highlight the capabilities of the new insulation materials in our prefabricated walls.
3. Production of IDW Prototypes:We will produce IDW prototypes containing insulation materials and conduct filling tests.
   1. Trials and tests to validate the performance of the newly developed materials
4. Demo Building Construction:We will construct and monitor a demo building containing the IDW prototypes with composite aerogel-based insulation materials.
   1. Demo Building event to highlight the practical application and benefits of our innovative insulation solutions

By embracing circularity and sustainability, we are committed to reducing the construction sector’s carbon footprint and paving the way for a more sustainable future.

Stay tuned for more updates on our progress and upcoming events!

Best regards,
The CarbIP Life Project Team

With the support of the LIFE programme
Project LIFE21 ENV/BE/1011074177

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.