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

** 需要 ** 英国目前正在经历 ** 生活成本危机 **。** 飙升的能源价格 ** 和乌克兰战争凸显了 ** 能源安全 ** 和 ** 燃料贫困 ** 问题，** 316万 ** 英国家庭（13.2%）** 生活在燃料贫困 **（BEIS，2020）之间选择吃饭和取暖。据估计，随着Ofgem 2022年4月价格上限的提高，这一数字将增加到500万个燃料贫乏的家庭，预计随着10月价格上涨，这一数字将进一步增加;进一步加剧危机。此外，2019年英国温室气体建筑排放量（GHG）为87 MtCO 2当量，占GHG的17%。英国有可执行的减排目标，到2050年达到净零排放。英国可以通过空气源热泵提供负担得起的可持续房屋供暖，但 **80%的英国家庭由于 ** 绝缘不良 ** 而没有热泵准备好 **（BEIS，2021）。** 隔热房屋对于实现净零和减少燃料贫困至关重要。要做到这一点，建筑改造率需要从26，000/年增加到250，000/年（CfCC，2020）。目前的材料未能使英国的建筑物隔热，800万座实心墙建筑中有90%完全没有隔热（700万座; 26%的住房）。解决方案 **Thermulon开发了一种 ** 具有成本效益 ** 和 ** 简单的解决方案，通过开发 ** 新型化学工艺 **（Thermulon工艺）来 ** 降低隔热气凝胶的成本 **，使这些房屋隔热。气凝胶是现有的最隔热的材料，具有上级防火性能（当由二氧化硅制成时），但由于其高成本（其复杂制造的产物）而在其使用中受到限制。Thermulon开发了一种连续的化学工艺，而不是 ** 消除当前生产的瓶颈 ** 问题，并利用规模经济 ** 大幅降低气凝胶价格 **;使得气凝胶能够在诸如绝缘灰泥、毯子和覆层的产品中使用，以使房屋存量达到其中房屋可以容易地翻新和负担得起加热的标准。

**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.