
- Founded
- 2024
- Employees*
- 3
- Funding to Date*
- $705,000
- Website
- nanoplume.com
The world depends on insulation that wastes up to 60% of heating and cooling energy, is heavy and bulky, and is 80% derived from petrochemicals. There’s been little innovation in this $65 billion industry, which still sells thick glass, sand, and plastic composites invented nearly a century ago. Aerogels—the lightest, thinnest, and best insulating materials known—could disrupt the insulation market. But so far, they’re too expensive and fragile for anything but niche uses.
Enter NANOPLUME which has developed a bio-based aerogel that is strong enough for the built environment and three times more insulating than mineral wool and fiberglass insulation. NANOPLUME upcycles widely available biowastes and uses conventional industrial equipment to produce this aerogel. The resulting insulation is affordable, biodegradable, dust- and mold-free, fire-retardant, and composed of 99% air.
Currently, a large housing manufacturer is testing NANOPLUME’s aerogel as a thermal break material for the floors, windows, and doors in timber-frame homes. Installed throughout structures, aerogels could enable builders to use less load-bearing material, excavate less dirt, and build more housing per hectare of land. This could increase profit margins for builders while reducing heating and cooling costs for homeowners.
NANOPLUME was founded by Theresa Hoffmann, a deep tech venture developer, and Chemical Engineers Tara Love, PhD, and Tafadzwa Motsi, PhD and MBA. The team has significant experience developing and commercializing bio-materials. They aim to improve energy efficiency, space efficiency, and circularity across many industries by introducing a long-overdue advance in insulation technology.