Objectives

A review of the embodied energy values of the various building materials shows that the embodied energy of the most widely used insulation materials in construction applications is characterized by very high values. This mainly results either from the energy-intensive conditions applied for the manufacturing of the mineral-based insulation materials or from the high embodied energies of the oil-based raw materials used for the production of the organic-based ones. Moreover, conventional insulating materials can suffer from various disadvantages including not stable thermal and acoustic performance over time, combustibility, shrinkage and setting, and pollution of the indoor building environment.
In this frame the objective of the project is the development of a new generation of inorganic insulation materials and building insulation masonry components, that will have 70-90% lower embodied energy, 20-25% lower unit cost than the synthetic organic and mineral-based ones, like EPS, XPS, Stone and Glass Wool, and at the same time, they will not present their technical, health and/or environmental drawbacks. New formulations and products will be called “3I” materials since they will be Inorganic, Insulating and Incombustible.

Project video