Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EV's) are vulnerable to Thermal Runaway (TR): where a cell heats in an uncontrolled manner and causes overheating in the rest of the module or pack. The spread of TR can be prevented with an effective **anti-thermal propagation (ATP)** TR barrier: a thin, lightweight layer of super-insulating material. The project partners will develop AEROMOTIVE: A UK-made aerogel-based EV TR Barrier for use in next-gen battery systems produced by JLR. Thermulon will develop the ATP production process, supported by CamMotive, who will design a test system to evaluate ATP pads performance under various conditions.

The urgency of achieving net-zero is heightened by soaring energy costs and the inefficiency of the UK's housing stock. Retrofitting homes with energy-efficient solutions is critical, and sustainable insulation materials are essential for reducing embodied carbon. Thermulon addresses this challenge by creating high-performance insulating aerogels from silica. Silica aerogels are exceptional insulation materials, combining superior thermal performance with fire safety. However, their high cost, driven by complex manufacturing processes, has traditionally limited their adoption. Thermulon's innovative chemical process breaks through this cost barrier by leveraging economies of scale and incorporating recycled glass, significantly lowering production costs and enabling the widespread use of aerogels in retrofitting products like plasters, blankets, and cladding. A key aspect of this innovation is the development of a simulation-driven process model in collaboration with Siemens UK, which will cut laboratory costs and materials waste by replacing extensive physical trials with virtual optimization. This approach not only accelerates scaling but also saves resources, further enhancing affordability and sustainability. Thermulon's process minimizes reliance on synthetic chemicals, reduces industrial waste, and strengthens the insulation supply chain's sustainability and resilience. By optimizing the integration of recycled glass and silicate minerals, this project advances Thermulon's commitment to environmentally responsible manufacturing while supporting the UK's net-zero goals. Siemens will be able to support innovation in sol-gel industries (eg pharma, textiles, ceramics) with the newly developed chemical libraries.

Thermulon is a deep-tech start-up based in the North East of England and London working on industry-changing insulation materials. Created in part in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy of 2017, Thermulon is developing ways to make both buildings and Electric Vehicles (EVs) safer through the scalable and efficient manufacturing of aerogels. The UK government has pledged to achieve Carbon neutrality by 2050, but with over 30% of the UK's carbon emissions originating from fossil fuels used to heat homes and offices; energy-efficient buildings are a key component of the strategy. Additionally, Li-ion batteries for EVs are vulnerable to Thermal Runaway (TR): an incident where a cell heats in an uncontrolled manner, breaches a safe operating temperature and triggers a domino effect of overheating in the rest of the module or pack; causing a vehicle fire. Aerogels are some of the most insulating materials in existence, have excellent fire-resistant properties when made of silica and are open-celled (vapour permeable) materials. Their adoption in the construction and automotive industries, in aid of decarbonisation, has historically been limited by their high price and low volume production, which itself has come from the high energy and intensive production/manufacturing methodologies. Thermulon's novel chemical aerogel process has been designed for scale. The AERODRY project aims to bring together Thermulon's novel chemical process with Almac's long standing history of scalable commercial manufacturing to bring Thermulon's aerogels to market faster.

Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EV's) are vulnerable to Thermal Runaway (TR): an incident where a cell heats in an uncontrolled manner, breaches a safe operating temperature and triggers a domino effect of overheating in the rest of the module or pack. The outcome of such incidents can be a fire that leads to damage to the vehicle or even to loss of life. The spread of TR and major incidents can be prevented or mitigated with an effective TR barrier: a thin, lightweight layer of a super-insulating material. The project partners will develop AEROPROOF: UK's first aerogel-based EV Thermal Runaway Barrier for prevention / minimisation of Thermal events.

**Need** The UK is currently undergoing a **cost of living crisis**. **Soaring energy prices** and the war in Ukraine are highlighting both **energy security** and **fuel poverty** issues, with **3.16m** UK households (13.2%) **living in fuel poverty** (BEIS, 2020) choosing between eating and heating. This was estimated to increase to 5m fuel poor homes with Ofgem's April 2022 price-cap increase, and is expected to increase further with October's price rise; further fuelling the crisis. Additionally, UK Greenhouse gas buildings emissions (GHGs) were 87 MtCO2 equivalent in 2019, accounting for 17% of GHGs. The UK has enforceable emissions reduction targets to hit net-zero by 2050\. The UK _can_ deliver affordable and sustainable house heating with air-source heat pumps, but **80% of UK homes aren't heat pump ready** due to **poor insulation** (BEIS, 2021). **Insulating homes is paramount to reaching net zero and reducing fuel poverty.** To do this, building retrofit rates need to increase from 26,000/year to 250,000/year (CfCC, 2020). Current materials failed to insulate the UK's buildings, with 90% of 8m solid wall buildings completely uninsulated (7m; 26% of housing). **Solution** Thermulon has developed a **cost-effective** and **easy solution to insulate these houses** by developing **novel chemical process** (Thermulon-process) to **reduce the cost of insulating aerogel**. Aerogels are the most insulating materials in existence, with superior fire-safety properties (when made of silica), but have been limited in their use due to their high cost which is a product of their complex manufacture. Thermulon has developed a continuous chemical process than **de-bottlenecks current production** issues and makes use of economies of scale to **drastically reduce aerogel price**; enabling the use of aerogels in products such as insulating plasters, blankets and cladding to bring the housing stock up to a standard in which houses can be easily retrofitted and affordably heated.

Thermulon is a deep-tech start-up based in the North East of England and London working on industry-changing insulation materials. Created in part in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy of 2017, Thermulon is developing ways to make homes both energy efficient to meet our climate goals, and fire-safe. The UK government has pledged to achieve Carbon neutrality by 2050, but with over 30% of the UK's carbon emissions originating from fossil fuels used to heat homes and offices; energy-efficient buildings are a key component of the strategy. Plastic-based insulation materials are used in construction due to their high thermal efficiency (minimising layer thickness) however they are combustible. Especially in taller buildings, this can have dire consequences, as was the case for Grenfell Tower; resulting in the government banning all combustible materials in tall-buildings (5 storeys / \>18 m) in Dec-2018\. Thermulon is developing methodologies to significantly reduce the thickness of insulation required in walls whilst also maintaining excellent thermal and fire performance. With current materials often needing over 30 cm per wall, this can add up to huge floorspace losses, especially in cities, resulting in cramped homes. By increasing floorspace with fire-safe materials, residents benefit from warm, safe and ultimately more affordable places to live.

Improvements in energy efficiency of existing buildings is a necessary part of building back better from the Covid-19 pandemic, as highlighted by the £2bn Green Homes Grant. Thermulon Ltd. brings a novel insulation material that can directly meet the need to improve the building fabric of existing stock. Our vision for this project is to design and start producing a highly-insulating aerogel-based plaster which can contribute to retrofit the 7.7m hard-to-treat homes with solid walls. This plaster, formulated by Thermulon in conjunction with experts in the field, will have highly-insulating properties thanks to our proprietary aerogels - the most insulating material known to man. In Phase 1 of this SBRI competition, Thermulon will confirm the feasibility of incorporating our aerogels into plaster, determine optimal material characteristics and test the aerogel-based plaster.

"Thermulon is a start-up company headquartered in the North East of England, creating novel chemical processes to produce **high-performance building insulation materials**. Created in part in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy of 2017, Thermulon started by exploring why flammable plastic based insulation is used and what the current alternatives are. Insulation is installed as panels, batts and blankets within the wall, roof and floor structure, applied specifically to reduce heat loss. The material achieves this through its internal structure, consisting of a high volume fraction of nanopores with inherently low thermal conductivity which thereby limits conductive and convective losses through the material. Successive UK governments have committed to reducing CO2 emissions from buildings, with over 30% of the UK's carbon emissions originating from fossil fuels used to heat homes and offices. In June 2019, the commitment to cut down emissions was galvanised with the pledge to reach **carbon-neutrality by 2050**. Cutting down on emissions from buildings (operational as well as embodied carbon) is necessary to achieve this target. Building regulations have been increasingly tightened to reduce thermal losses from buildings (consolidated in Building Regulations 2010; as amended). For a given thermal conductivity, thermal performance can only be improved by increasing the layer thickness. Therefore builders are using thicker and thicker insulating materials to meet the regulatory requirements; reducing living space. Plastic-based insulation materials are used due to their high thermal efficiency, minimising the layer thickness, however they are combustible and non-breathable. This means they cannot be used on solid-wall or heritage buildings due to damp issues. This leaves the 7.7 million UK solid-wall homes with few insulation options. Some home-owners are willing to take up significant internal floorspace by installing low-performance mineral-wool style materials, but the majority just pay the high heating bills, keeping their homes uninsulated at large monetary and carbon cost (~£435/year / 1770kg CO2; detached house). Thermulon has developed a new manufacturing process for aerogel materials which have excellent thermal properties and are inherently **non-combustible and breathable**. Working with The Welding Institute (TWI Ltd.), Thermulon will scale these materials up to produce a cost-effective insulation material for the construction sector, to be incorporated into a space-saving insulating render/plaster for use on solid-wall buildings; **saving home-owners money and reducing their carbon footprint.**"

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