Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

World: The vacuum insulation panel industry represented by VIPA International reports that it is pleased to see that standardisation activities on this technology are progressing well around the world. Standards are key tools to accelerate the market acceptance of new products and to create a level playing field for all companies in the market.

In Europe, the CEN Technical Committee 88 (thermal insulating materials and products) Working Group 11 (vacuum insulation products - VIP) has drafted the factory made vacuum insulated panels (VIP) for buildings specification. The draft standard is now under voting process by the national standardisation bodies in Europe. Some comments were received and will be analysed at the next meeting of the CEN TC 88 WG 11 in October 2017 to decide on the next steps, address the comments and start a new round of inquiries with the national standardisation bodies or proceed with the publication of the standard in its current format.

Also in Europe, the VIP group of the GSH (Güteschutzgemeinschaft Hartschaum e.V. - a neutral and independent European Association of Thermal Insulation Manufacturers) responsible for drafting the quality and testing regulations of the RAL VIP Quality Mark 960 has almost completed reviewing the current rules. Once completed, discussed with RAL (German Institute for Quality Assurance and Labelling) and approved, the RAL VIP Quality Mark will be extended to four VIP applications (refrigerators and freezers, building and construction, hot water tanks, temperature-controlled boxes and containers) irrespective of which core material is used for the particular VIP.

In April 2017 the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) VIP group had its first meeting in Canada. Professor Phalguni Mukhopadhyaya is the convener of this group. In China, the Nanjing Fiberglass Institute is leading the review of the Chinese VIP standard. The group plans to extend the current standard to all applications. The drafting process is expected to be completed by 2018.

VIPA International says that it is closely following all these standardisation discussions and is keeping its members informed about all developments. The association believes in the value of standards and would welcome global harmonisation as much as possible.

Canada: Ashburton Ventures has announced that it is to enter the vacuum insulation panel (VIP) market and, in partnership with ZMM Canada Minerals, will target the construction market, following research and development. The partners will use ZMM’s Z-1 Clinoptilolite Zeolite Quarry, as a source of Z-1 zeolite, a highly-porous naturally-occuring mineral, as the core of VIPs.

VIPs have so far found limited use in the construction sector due to their high cost and tendency to lose performance with time. The cost of using zeolites is expected to be much lower than conventional silica or glass fibre based boards, potentially opening up vast new areas of application for VIP technology.

“This is an exciting time for Ashburton. To have its unique Z-1 zeolite used in the creation of a leading edge clean energy, clean technology initiative in collaboration with the University of Victoria, the Province of B.C. and the Federal Government is truly a big step for our shareholders,” said Ashburton’s President David Gdanski.