1 Oct 2004
Cabot Nanogel® Promises Unmatched Energy Savings
Revolutionary Insulating Material Makes The Best Window, Wall and Skylight Products Better
With energy prices rising around the world, maximizing thermal performance in today’s building materials is top of mind for architects, builders, and building and home owners. The emotional and ergonomic benefits of natural daylight often compromises the desire for energy efficiency. Cabot Corporation (NYSE:CBT) today announced that its Nanogel® translucent aerogel material, provides superior energy savings and is the best translucent insulating and lightest solid material in the world.
Nanogel is now incorporated into the skylight, window and wall system products of six leaders in the fenestration systems industry -- GRP (glass reinforced polyester) panels, polycarbonate, U-channel and insulated glass systems. This means that the material is now part of products in all mediums available to architects and builders who are looking for high light transmission and superior thermal performance.
“Nanogel makes the best fenestration products better,” said James Satterwhite, Cabot Marketing Director, Building and Construction. "It makes them more energy- and cost-efficient with thermal capacities unmatched in building materials today. In addition, Nanogel’ hydrophobic nature, permanent performance feature which means these products repel water, and will not degrade over time, therefore substantially extending their life cycles.”
Manufactured exclusively by Cabot through its patented process, Nanogel translucent aerogel is a highly light transmissive, lightweight, nanoporous material, and is permanently hydrophobic, making it both moisture and mildew resistant. Cabot’s continuous aerogel manufacturing process based on a new technology route, is housed in the first commercial plant in Frankfurt, Germany.
“Nanogel-filled systems will allow architects substantially greater design freedom, allowing a wider scope to maximize natural light and thermal performance at the same time meet the increasingly stringent building insulation regulations,” said Satterwhite. “We see Nanogel as a breakthrough product that will stimulate innovation in building design and be a tool to create better and more efficient buildings worldwide."
In Europe, Nanogel is incorporated into the products of:
• Kalwall Corporation: Kalwall Corporation is the leader in the field of translucent building panel systems, having invented the translucent, structural building panel. Kalwall is recognized worldwide for highly insulating, translucent panel technology.
• Scobalit AG: Scobalit AG produces high quality fiber reinforced polyester materials for applications in building and construction. The company specializes in glazing and insulation units, fiberglass and glass filled components among others. Scobalit’s polyester panels plus Nanogel provide 25% light transmission and thermal insulation values (0.48 W/(m²K) at 50 mm).
• GE Advanced Materials Specialty Film & Sheet: GE Advanced Materials Specialty Film & Sheet is the global leader in the manufacture of high performance Lexan® polycarbonate sheet and film products. Lexan Thermoclear Polycarbonate multiwall plus Nanogel has improved thermal insulation by 60% and acoustical insulation by 5dB as well as greater light diffusion in current products.
• Reglit Glass Architecture: Reglit Glass Architecture designs and supplies Pilkington Prolilit translucent linear structural glazing systems in the UK where glass performance meets or exceeds building code criteria for thermal insulation and light transmission. Pilkington is one of the world's largest manufacturers of glass and glazing products for building, automotive and related technical markets.
• Okalux: An innovative insulating glass manufacturing company, Okalux, produces an insulated glass with Nanogel panel that provides better insulation (0.6 W/(m²-K) at 32 mm) at thinner gauges. The company promotes using natural daylight and saving energy while creating comfort in the room.
In the United States, the state-of-the-art incorporators and distributors are:
• Kalwall Corporation: Kalwall Corporati
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Notes for editors
Cabot Corporation
Cabot Corporation (www.cabot-corp.com) is a $1.8BN global specialty chemical and materials company headquartered in Boston, MA. Cabot's major products are carbon black, fumed silica, inkjet colorants, capacitor materials, and cesium formate drilling fluids. Cabot is also a leader in the production of fine, structured, sub-micron particles, comprising carbon, metals and metal oxides developed to enhance the performance of a variety of products, including rubber, adhesives, inks, microelectronics, and plastics. Cabot operates 44 manufacturing plants located in 23 countries around the world.
For more information about the incorporating partners, see the following web sites:
Kalwall Corp.: www.kalwall.com
SuperSky Products: www.supersky.com
Westcrowns Inc.: www.westcrowns.com
Scobalit: www.scobalit.ch
GE Structured Products: www.gestructuredproducts.com
Reglit Glass Architecture: www.reglit.com
Pilkington plc: www.pilkington.uk
Okalux: www.okalux.com
Nanogel is a registered trademark of Cabot Corporation.
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Cabot Corporation
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