SBIR Phase II: Ultra-Clear and Insulating Aerogel for Energy-Efficient Windows

这个小企业创新研究第二阶段项目开发了一种新型的双层玻璃窗，用该公司专有的超级隔热气凝胶进行隔热。这种气凝胶窗可以实现0.18 BTU/h/ft 2/F的玻璃中心U因子（每平方米每开尔文1.02瓦），到2030年可以节省1.2夸脱BTU的成本效益，减少美国每个冬天200亿美元的能源损失。除了每年30 - 50亿美元的气凝胶市场，这项工作还延伸到其他市场，例如用于制冷和烤箱的透明门，以及用于过程加热（~180 °C）的太阳能热接收器，其中每一种都代表着节能和减少温室气体的重大机会（商用冷冻机和冰箱门的33亿美元机会，以及用于太阳能热的工业过程加热的30亿美元机会）。到2050年，这种新材料技术每年可以抵消超过15亿吨的二氧化碳排放量，并实现更高效透明隔热的革命性设计。该项目的智力价值解决了将超级绝缘气凝胶纳入中空玻璃单元的关键技术障碍，重点关注两个主要风险。该项目将：（1）证明将气凝胶片材按比例缩放到具有足够光学和热性能的窗户相关尺寸，重点是生产窗户工业中的14”× 20”标准测试尺寸;（2）证明使用具有这些相同尺寸的窗户材料的气凝胶的耐久性，其需要20年以上的产品寿命。该奖项将探索制造气凝胶的关键成本驱动因素，创建气凝胶隔热窗户设计，并测试全尺寸（大于4平方英尺）的窗户原型。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project develops a novel, double-pane window insulated with a sheet of the company’s proprietary super-insulating aerogel. This aerogel window can achieve a center-of-glass U-factor of 0.18 BTU/h/ft2/F (1.02 Watt per square meter per Kelvin) and could enable cost-effective energy savings of 1.2 quadrillion BTUs by 2030, reducing the $20 billion in energy lost each winter in the U.S. In addition to this $3-5 billion annual market for the aerogel, this work also extends to other markets, such as transparent doors for refrigeration and ovens, and solar thermal receivers for process heat (~180 °C), where each represent significant opportunities for energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions (a $3.3 billion opportunity in commercial freezer and refrigerator doors, and a $3.0 billion opportunity in industrial process heat for solar thermal). By 2050, this new material technology could offset over 1.5 billion tons per year of carbon dioxide emissions and enable revolutionary designs for more efficient transparent insulation. The intellectual merit of this project addresses key technical barriers for inclusion of super-insulating aerogels in window insulated glass units, focusing on two main risks. This project will: (1) demonstrate scaling of aerogel sheets to window relevant sizes with adequate optical and thermal properties, focusing on producing the 14” x 20” standard test size in the window industry; (2) demonstrate the durability of the aerogel using materials with these same dimensions for windows, which require 20+ year product lifetimes. This award will explore key cost drivers for manufacturing aerogel, create aerogel-insulated window designs, and test a full-scale (greater than 4 square feet) window prototype.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.