How will we construct the buildings of the future? And how will we reconcile energy efficiency, architectural aspirations, and the best-possible home comfort? With SLENTITE, BASF is providing answers to these questions. At BAU 2017, taking place in Munich from January 16 to 21, the new high-performance insulation material is being presented in three specific applications.

SLENTITE is the first aerogel-based insulation material to be available as a heavy-duty panel. Consisting of 90% air, the high-performance material has an astonishing insulation value that makes 25 to 50% slimmer insulation possible. At the same time, the open-porous structure of the polyurethane aerogel ensures excellent moisture regulation – the essential precondition for a pleasant interior climate. With these characteristics, the slim material is perfect for the optimization of other applications.

Consequently, SLENTITE is now being used in the Okalux HPI high-performance insulation glass module from Okalux. In these non-transparent facade elements, the material is being used as thermal insulation in the cavity between the glass panes. “With its outstanding U-value the insulation glazing thus meets all the thermal protection requirements of the building envelope,” says Dr. Marc Fricke, SLENTITE Project Manager at BASF Polyurethanes. The Okalux elements offer plenty of design scope and can be seamlessly integrated into any conventional facade system. “Along with its excellent insulation properties, SLENTITE’s simple handling is what we find so exciting,” explains Dr. Frank Schneider, Okalux Development Manager. “It not only makes it easy for us to construct our elements, but the insulation is also immune to aging in the course of its life.”

Cooperation with Beck+Heun also demonstrates that SLENTITE meets the energy needs of our time. At Frontale, the window construction trade show in spring 2016, the company teamed up with BASF in showing what the high-performance insulation material is capable of in window modernization. Installed as an extra-slim window upgrade strip at the transition from the frame to the jamb, the PU aerogel modifies the isothermal characteristic so effectively that no mold-inducing condensation can form. The commercialization of the prototype unveiled less than a year ago is now getting underway.

In a third cooperative venture, SLENTITE is again demonstrating its strengths in the facade glazing sector: RAICO, a supplier of high-grade glazing systems, is using the high-performance insulation material for thermal separation on window and facade systems. With this combination, large-area glazed facades can now achieve previously unattainable thermal insulation properties. Manufactured with the matching contour, SLENTITE minimizes the risk of thermal bridges and permits the full exploitation of the material’s insulation performance.