The Thermulon-process for making super-insulating aerogels – affordable insulation to aid the cost of living crisis

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Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK

£2,622,000

Dec. 1, 2022

July 31, 2024

**Need**

The UK is currently undergoing a **cost of living crisis**. **Soaring energy prices** and the war in Ukraine are highlighting both **energy security** and **fuel poverty** issues, with **3.16m** UK households (13.2%) **living in fuel poverty** (BEIS, 2020) choosing between eating and heating. This was estimated to increase to 5m fuel poor homes with Ofgem's April 2022 price-cap increase, and is expected to increase further with October's price rise; further fuelling the crisis.

Additionally, UK Greenhouse gas buildings emissions (GHGs) were 87 MtCO2 equivalent in 2019, accounting for 17% of GHGs. The UK has enforceable emissions reduction targets to hit net-zero by 2050\.

The UK _can_ deliver affordable and sustainable house heating with air-source heat pumps, but **80% of UK homes aren't heat pump ready** due to **poor insulation** (BEIS, 2021). **Insulating homes is paramount to reaching net zero and reducing fuel poverty.** To do this, building retrofit rates need to increase from 26,000/year to 250,000/year (CfCC, 2020). Current materials failed to insulate the UK's buildings, with 90% of 8m solid wall buildings completely uninsulated (7m; 26% of housing).

**Solution**

Thermulon has developed a **cost-effective** and **easy solution to insulate these houses** by developing **novel chemical process** (Thermulon-process) to **reduce the cost of insulating aerogel**. Aerogels are the most insulating materials in existence, with superior fire-safety properties (when made of silica), but have been limited in their use due to their high cost which is a product of their complex manufacture.

Thermulon has developed a continuous chemical process than **de-bottlenecks current production** issues and makes use of economies of scale to **drastically reduce aerogel price**; enabling the use of aerogels in products such as insulating plasters, blankets and cladding to bring the housing stock up to a standard in which houses can be easily retrofitted and affordably heated.