• ALBEDO

    A bio-based thermal insulation material made with citrus peel

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    The Joy of Squeezing a Juicy Story

  • Photo by Olivier Chatel on Unsplash

    A should-not miss opportunity

    The building sector has the biggest potential in terms of efficiency gains, as it is the single largest energy-consuming sector in developed countries (50% of the total). In the EU buildings represent 36% of the EU GHG emissions and 40% of its energy consumption, which is mostly used for heating.

    Energy efficiency and heat decarbonization in buildings are the key enablers to reach a higher EU climate ambition of reducing our GHG emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to the 1990 level. Insulation may be the key enabler to reach those goals.

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    A Juicy Market

    The global insulation market size was estimated in 2018 at $52.18 Billion in 2018 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.7% because of:

    • Increasing consumer awareness regarding energy conservation.

    • Increasing regulatory support and demand for residential and industrial insulation.

    • Rapid industrialization and urbanization in emerging countries such as China, India, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are the factors estimated to fuel the product demand.

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    A Juicy Market also for the Planet

    • Heating energy demand in existing buildings can be reduced by 30-50% through insulation retrofit and better glazing.

    • In new buildings, it can be reduced by 90-95%, using widely available insulation technology and design knowledge.

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    The Catch

    Although insulating buildings could have a dramatic impact on fighting climate change at scale, the materials mostly used for that purpose - fiberglass, mineral wool, rock wool, and polystyrene - are made of non-renewable sources, their fabrication is extremely energy-intensive, and the end product is non-biodegradable and hard to recycle. Using bio-based insulation materials seems to be the right way to go as their performance is just as good as mineral or fossil-based materials.

    Here is where ALBEDO comes in.

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    The Solution: Albedo

    By using the solid waste produced by the fruit juice industry and the orange juice pressing machines available at food outlets, we are able to create a bio-based insulation material, ALBEDO, for the building industry in large quantities, at the same time positively contributing to climate protection by:

    • Significantly reducing the volume of waste from the fruit industry that goes to landfill, and the volume of municipal solid waste processed on a daily basis.

    • Reducing CO2 emissions: it requires little energy to be produced. Plus, as it is widely available, the end product would require short transport distances, meaning, less CO2 emissions.

    • Reducing energy consumption in buildings, therefore less CO2 emissions.

  • Raw Material

    Waste for others, an excellent raw material for us!

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    Fruit Juice Industry

    Industrial Scale

    The fruit juice industry produces globally >12,000,000 tons per year of solid waste made of citrus peel and seeds

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    Food Outlets in Cities

    City Scale

    Food outlets with a cold-pressed machine produce, on average, 50 kg/day of orange solid waste. Only in Europe that means over 3,000 tons/day!!

  • Partnerships

    We are not doing it alone!

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    Research

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    Institutional

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    Municipal Waste Treatment

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    Industry

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    Retail

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