Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Carlisle Construction Materials has awarded a contract to Germany-based polymers producer Covestro to supply its 99%-reduced CO₂ bio-circular methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). Carlisle Construction Materials plans to use the materials in its polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation boards. Covestro says that it will supply its Mondur CQ 489 product, which will be suitable for use across Carlisle Construction Materials’ Hunter Panels, SynTec, Versico and WeatherBond product ranges. The supplier says that switching to this MDI will save 2.4t of CO₂ emissions per tonne used.

Carlisle Construction Materials president Steve Schwar said "Carlisle Construction Materials has always been at the forefront of developing high-performance construction products that lead the way in sustainability. With our new bio-based rigid foam insulation, we are demonstrating our unwavering commitment to environmental responsibility, while ensuring that our customers have access to the most advanced building materials available. Our partners play a pivotal role in the realisation of our bio-based isolation."

Covestro’s head of performance materials Hermann-Josef Doerholt said "Covestro’s vision to become fully circular requires research and development advancements that directly support the Scope 3 goals of our customers like Carlisle. Covestro has some of the most aggressive sustainability and climate targets in the chemical industry, and the further we progress in developing solutions to achieve them, the more the effects resonate along the supply chain.”

Austria: Strabag has acquired hemp insulation producer Naporo Klima Dammstoff from Synthesa. SeeNews has reported that Strabag expects the acquisition to help it to expand its product range in line with its 2040 decarbonisation target. Meanwhile, Naporo Klima Dammstoff says that it will work with Strabag to explore new applications for its products, including in green roofs and as acoustic insulation.

Synthesa managing director Georg Bluemel said “In Strabag, we have found a partner who will continue to write Naporo’s success story in the future. We look forward to additional growth prospects for the company and its employees.”

Australia: Murray Industrial Hemp has announced plans for an upcoming hemp-based building materials plant in Barham, New South Wales. Its products will include alternative insulation panels. Local press has reported that all of the plant’s products will align with Australia's new 7-Star Building Standards for energy-efficient homes. Murray Industrial Hemp expects to commission the plant by early 2026.

Director Joe D'Alo said "We believe industrial hemp holds the key to transforming how Australia builds. Our goal is to assist mainstream builders, enabling them to seamlessly integrate hemp building products into their standard processes. The building process doesn’t change with hemp blocks and hemp panels."

France: Groupe Berkem and Soprema have launched Pavatex, a wood fibre-based insulation panel. Groupe Berkem says that it developed a bio-based polyphenolic fungicide for use in the panel. The partners say that development of the product took 30 months.

Groupe Berkem chair and CEO Olivier Fahy said “The development of a unique solution that meets the needs of the market is the result of the collaboration between our two groups and the pooling of our technical expertise. For Groupe Berkem, this collaboration agreement is part of our continuous commitment to supporting the transition of chemical substances to eco-responsible and bio-based solutions.”

UK: Edinburgh-based bio-insulation company IndiNature is preparing to build a Euro4.4m production plant at Hawick in southern Scotland. The company is currently in talks with Scottish Borders Council, contractors and others about the project, according to the Southern Reporter newspaper. The 2600m3 plant is set to create 30 jobs. It is hoped that the new unit will be ready by the end of 2020. IndiNature manufactures its rigid IndiBoard and IndiTherm batts insulation products from plant-based materials.