Buildings account for 40 per cent of energy consumption in the EU. In Germany alone, however, around 80 per cent of buildings are more than 30 years old. Two thirds of façades have not yet been insulated. Yet the sustainable insulation of buildings offers enormous potential for reducing climate-relevant emissions. Especially if sustainable insulation systems were used during renovation and in newbuilts instead of, as has been the case until now, petroleum-based systems such as polystyrene. An alternative solution has been around since the 1930s: aerogel, a high-performance insulating material. This thermal superinsulator is based on mineral resources, has better insulating properties and is also sustainable and fully recyclable. Production, though, is at a premium.

This is where Professor Dr Manfred Renner's innovative approach comes in: a newly developed, already patented plant and process technology for the cost-effective production of aerogel. It enables the production of mineral insulation plaster for building insulation, for example. The aerogels can also be used in other sectors, from the automotive industry to aerospace, as well as in energy storage systems. Manfred Renner and his team developed the process at the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT in Oberhausen. They managed to successfully demonstrate its technical feasibility and scalability. They also succeeded in reducing manufacturing costs by 70 per cent and cutting production time from more than ten to four hours. The production process also does not require any environmentally hazardous chemicals. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has patented the process, the product and parts of the plant technology. Aerolight GmbH, based in Duisburg, was founded at the end of 2023 with a view to producing aerogel, using this process on an industrial scale.