Beerenberg has carried out and received the European Technical Assessment (ETA) for Oryza aerogel. This means that more industries than Oil and Gas can benefit from Oryza aerogel insulation products, including construction, infrastructure, car and marine industry.
Ideal for buildings
With this ETA-certification (European Technical Assessment), builders will have the documentation they need, and that the insulation can be made available for use in buildings throughout Europe. In addition, we have established an environmental declaration (Environmental Product Data sheet - EPD) for Oryza aerogel, which is essential to be able to compete in environmentally friendly construction projects. Here, all environmental aspects are calculated into the building.
- We chose to get the approvals in Germany because this is the strictest regime to meet, while at the same time it is adapted to other areas within the EU. In cooperation with our partner aerogel-it, we now have all the approvals in place and we are ready to meet the market, says Geir Harris, SVP Business Development in Beerenberg.
Energy efficient
The fact that new aerogel materials with better properties are available at a lower cost is good news for the construction industry, which can greatly benefit from energy-efficient insulation for both rehabilitation of older building masses and the construction of new environmentally friendly buildings. Oryza aerogel thus opens new possibilities in relation to building height, wall thickness, upgrading of listed buildings and older buildings that have challenges in meeting today's energy standard requirements.
- For example, re-insulating older buildings with aerogel insulation will provide major energy savings. This insulation also saves space and provides opportunities for a larger usable area. In Europe, we have supplied this type of insulation to both the upgrading of historic/listed buildings in Berlin and to new high-standard environmentally friendly buildings in Leipzig as well as to several trial projects in Austria and Switzerland.
Seeking cooperation
Beerenberg is now looking for partners who can help take this further in the construction market.
- Going forward we will look for partners who can continue to work with energy-efficient insulation in buildings, says Harris.
We are looking for partners who can work further with energy-efficient insulation in buildings, says Geir Harris, SVP Business Development in Beerenberg.
Increased demand
The new approvals also open the door for usage in other industries and markets that focus on energy efficiency, where energy efficiency is one of the sustainability goals. Beerenberg is experiencing a significant increase in demand for aerogel insulation, across markets. The reason is that the need for energy-efficient insulation is increasing, and more markets than before are now considering the possibilities of using aerogel. The assessments are often also linked to increased security in relation to batteries for electric cars, logistics, trains etc.
The marine industry also has several interesting areas where aerogel can be used, as weight and available space are becoming more and more important. There is now a wide range of industries that ask us to investigate whether we can adapt and do something with aerogel insulation to solve their challenges or issues.
- Even industry areas that we did not expect to have such needs are contacting us to assess the possibility of using energy-efficient and space-saving aerogel solutions, says Harris. At the same time, it will necessarily take some time from a market starts trying out a new product until they decide to adopt it on a large scale. Some industries also need longer time on this process than others, adds Harris.
Unique insulation
Aerogel's unique properties have long been known in the oil and gas sector. Beerenberg, which has been working with the insulation material since 2008, has been able to develop an almost dust-free aerogel material adapted to today's insulation requirements and at a lower cost, which were the challenges of previous generations of the material. This is important for good HSE during production and assembly.
Oryza aerogel is a high-performance thermal insulation material. Compared to conventional thermal insulation materials, Oryza aerogel enables very space-saving construction. Significant amounts of energy can be saved in the rehabilitation of buildings. Oryza aerogel achieves the highest fire class A1 – the material is non-flammable and can withstand exposure to fire without catching fire or emitting toxic gases. Oryza aerogel is very light and does not absorb water. Other benefits include reduced construction time and savings resulting from lower material consumption and transport of materials.