Growing Insulation in Alaska

Program Document · Fri Oct 13 00:00:00 EDT 2023

OSTI ID:2202961

Buildings produce 40% of all carbon emissions in the U.S. This includes the energy needed to heat, cool, and power the nation's buildings and the energy used to manufacture, ship, and assemble the construction materials. In extreme climates and remote regions, buildings use even more energy, as building materials must be produced and shipped farther to the site, increasing the greenhouse gas emissions embodied in the buildings. The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is developing technologies that reduce how much energy our buildings use and how much carbon goes into them in the first place. NREL researchers teamed up with the Biomaterials Laboratory at the University of Alaska, U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Lab, and the VTT Centre of Finland on a three-year project to "grow" insulation using trees in Alaska - improving the efficiency of buildings by providing envelope retrofit options using local resources.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 2202961
• Report Number(s): NREL/FS-5600-85490; MainId:86263; UUID:9c6601a7-2ada-46cc-ac63-cf8cb364640f; MainAdminID:70877
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

carbon negative building
cellulose insulation
circular economy
ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION