Jun 2 2011
Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT) has launched “Lumira™ aerogel” as the new brand name for its insulated daylighting systems, company officials announced today.
“The new brand name will help establish a unique identity for the product within the architectural daylighting market,” said AJ du Plessis, commercial director, Cabot Aerogel business.
Previously, Cabot’s aerogel products were called Nanogel® aerogel, a name used for all its applications in several different market sectors – from building and industrial coatings to energy pipelines and even insulated apparel. Cabot’s rebranding strategy will give the products separate identities and new names for each different market sector.
“We established a unique identity in Lumira aerogel to highlight our dedication to the architectural daylighting market,” said du Plessis. “We believe the name Lumira aerogel encompasses the lightweight-yet-strong nature of our eco-friendly daylighting products. Our customers can still count on the same unsurpassed technical expertise, superior customer service, and unique performance benefits they have come to rely on.”
For architects, building owners and specifiers, Lumira aerogel is more than a new name. For them, the established technology it encapsulates reflects a new future and provides the perfect solution for maximizing freedom of aesthetic design for daylighting systems, together with sought-after benefits such as the well-being of occupants, energy efficiency, and superior thermal insulation.
Cabot introduced aerogel to the daylighting insulation market in 2003. Since then, tens of thousands of square meters of aerogel high-performance translucent daylighting systems have been used in buildings around the world – in a wide range of applications from glass to fabrics.
Lumira aerogel dramatically increases thermal insulation, improves acoustics, and greatly reduces a building’s lifecycle costs. Its unique performance means that architects and designers can now create large areas of daylighting in walls and roofs, which can be as energy efficient as an insulated solid wall.
In addition, the natural light diffusing performance and elimination of glare and hot spots provided by Lumira insulation creates a soft, diffused interior light which results in a higher comfort level for occupants and reduced need for artificial lighting. The portfolio of trusted aerogel-insulated systems, in both particle and blanket form, from a host of international partners, provides superior daylighting solutions resulting in significant energy savings without compromising light transmission.
Beyond helping to create healthier living, recreational and work spaces, incorporating Lumira aerogel into a building’s daylighting systems can also assist in securing LEEDTM certification. Inclusion of Lumira aerogel can also assist in meeting or exceeding stringent building codes such as Part L in the United Kingdom, Energieein-sparverordnung (EnEV) in Germany or Règlementation Technique in France.
Because Lumira aerogel is reusable, safe for human and ecological systems, and is manufactured with little to no impact on the environment, it was awarded Silver Cradle to CradleSM certification from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry. This stringent independent certification process examines a product’s manufacturing characteristics and ecological impact, aiming to eliminate waste entirely and create a healthy and sustainable society.
Commenting on the technology, Cabot Aerogel global business manager James Satterwhite said, “Energy efficiency and sustainability are paramount in every architect’s design and thought process. Coupled with that is the realization that high-level lifecycle performance and cost savings, particularly with the unpredictability of energy prices, are vital. Over the next decade, we expect that high performance insulation systems will become increasingly common as specifiers seek to meet or exceed increasingly strict building regulations.”
What is LumiraTM aerogel?
Sometimes called “frozen smoke,” aerogel is the lightest and best insulating solid in the world. Lumira aerogel, Cabot’s branded aerogel, is a hydrophobic aerogel produced as particles. Each particle consists largely of air, greater than 90 percent, contained in a structure with pore sizes less than the mean free path of air molecules, which severely inhibits heat transfer through the material. Cabot produces Lumira aerogel in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located near Frankfurt, Germany where it began commercial production in 2003. Cabot certifies it has completed the EU REACH pre-registrations required for all Cabot aerogel products.