Industry News & Announcements

>>Bayer Plans to Float MaterialScience on Stock Market as Separate Company
Source: bayer.de
Bayer intends in the future to focus entirely on the Life Science businesses – HealthCare and CropScience – and float MaterialScience on the stock market as a separate company. The Supervisory Board unanimously approved the Board of Management's plans on Sept. 18. "Our intention is to create two top global corporations: Bayer as a world-class innovation company in the Life Science businesses, and MaterialScience as a leading player in polymers," Bayer CEO Dr. Marijn Dekkers announced. Read more here.
 
>>Lapolla Industries Partners With White House to Reduce Harmful Greenhouse Gases and Fight Climate Change
Lapolla Commits to Eliminating High-GWP HFCs in Products by 2016
Source: lapolla.com
At a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in September, The White House announced Lapolla Industries, Inc. as an official private sector partner of the President’s Climate Action Plan, recognizing the company’s efforts to curb the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Lapolla is a Houston-based manufacturer and global supplier of spray polyurethane foam insulation, reflective roof coatings, and equipment designed to reduce energy consumption in the residential, industrial and commercial markets. Under its commitment, Lapolla will transition its entire product line of foam and coating systems to no longer use high-GWP HFCs by 2016. Lapolla will also provide more than 18 seminars on the importance of eliminating high-GWP HFCs from the environment.

This commitment follows Lapolla’s recent announcement that they have become the first manufacturer globally to offer a third party tested and approved wall foam system that uses the Solstice® Liquid Blowing Agent. Lapolla achieved this fourth generation benchmark while working closely with Honeywell to incorporate the Solstice® LBA, a next-generation blowing agent from Honeywell. The product not only improves foam performance, but also delivers environmental benefits. Solstice® LBA has an ultra-low global warming potential of 1, which is 99.9 percent lower than today’s most commonly-used blowing agent, HFC-245fa, a hydrofluorocarbon, while retaining its insulating performance. Solstice® LBA is nonflammable, has received EPA approval under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program and is not a volatile organic compound. Read more here.
 
>>Honeywell’s Low-Global-Warming Material Insulates Net-Zero Energy Home
Source: environmentalleader.com
Honeywell’s Solstice Liquid Blowing Agent — an ultra low-global-warming-potential foam blowing agent — has been used to help insulate a net-zero energy home project at Purdue University, the company says. The blowing agent, which causes closed-cell sprayfoam insulation to expand and provides the majority of the foam’s insulating properties, was used to retrofit a residential home in West Lafayette, Ind. It marked the first application of the new blowing agent in sprayfoam wall insulation. Solstice LBA is already used to insulate high-efficiency refrigerators. Read more here.

>>EERE Releases Notice of Intent Related to Funding High Impact Projects
Source: energy.gov
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Building Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled," Building America Industry Partnerships for High Performance Housing Innovation," DE-FOA-0001117.

Selected teams will conduct applied Research and Development in real world houses to demonstrate market-relevant strategies that will lead to 40% energy savings in existing homes (pre-post retrofit) by 2030 and 50% savings in new homes (over International Energy Conservation Code 2009) by 2025. 

Through this FOA, EERE will fund high impact projects that develop and demonstrate integrated solutions to any or all of these core technical challenges, primarily focused on solutions for U.S. climate zones with the greatest need – i.e., Hot/humid, Mixed Humid, and Cold climates. Read more here.
 
>>DuPont Fluorochemicals Announces Full-scale Production of HFO-1336mzz
Source: gupta-verlag.com
DuPont Fluorochemicals has announced plans for full-scale commercial production of HFO-1336mzz, the new foam expansion and refrigerant solution based on hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology, to meet growing demand for solutions that reduce global warming potential (GWP) and improve energy efficiency. Read more here.

>>Dr. Joseph Lstiburek to Speak at Upcoming Events, Sept. 30 and Oct. 2
Source: bpi.org 
Building Science Corporation's Joseph W. Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng., Fellow ASHRAE, will be a speaker at two upcoming events at the new ROXUL Energy Design Centre. The Sept. 30 event will be at the JW Marriott Chicago and participants can earn up to 15 AIA credit hours. The Oct. 2 event will be at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel and will have the same number of AIA credits available. Click here to register for either. 
 
>>Airflow 100: A Review of Air Velocity Testing Methods
Source: bpi.org
Industry studies have shown that 70% of residential systems have improper airflow. Airflow measurements are among the most daunting tasks in the industry, During this free webinar -- Tuesday, October 21, 11 a.m. (EDT)-- learn the wide variety of measurement methods and the benefits of each. Dig into the science behind good airflow measurement, as well as the importance of considering air density corrections. The ins and outs of picking the correct tool for the measurement task or application will also be covered. Click here to register. Earn up to 1 BPI CEU.