Aerogels have been around for quite a while, but
only recently has technology enabled the innovative product to
be produced commercially and cheaper than ever before. In the past,
Aerogels production and manufacturing cost were way too much to
produce commercially. Aspen Aerogels, Inc. has become a worldwide
leader in producing and manufacturing this material thanks to their
breakthrough in speeding up the solvent extraction process. By
doing this, Aspen cut production costs and can now produce plentiful
amounts AeroGel.
Aspen, based out of Massachusetts, has a 30,000 square foot manufacturing
plant where the AeroGel is made. The company has an agreement
with Burton Snowboards,
who sells extreme weather apparel, to insulate their clothing with AeroGel. The
Burton extreme weather jacket is made with Spaceloft AeroGel AR3103, the thickest
in comparison with AR3101 and AR3102. AR3103 runs about $4 – 5 per square
foot, depending on quantity. The Burton jacket insulated with AeroGel retails
for $550, which is comparably more than their non-AeroGel insulated jacket, which
retails for $280. AeroGel insulated jackets are still one of the most expensive
on the market because its manufacturing process, though sped up and cheaper than
ever, is still more expensive than other competitors. Also AeroGel technology
is the best on the market, which raises the price. Furthermore, Aspen uses AeroGel
to insulate Burton boots and gloves, designed to withstand extreme weather. The
technology is such a breakthrough that NASA and the United States military is
considering to use AeroGel in the new spacesuits and combat apparel. Another
company based out of Italy named Corpo Nove also manufactures AeroGel insulated
jackets, which are being distributed by the hip clothing brand, Hugo Boss.
In the past, energy costs were the main factor in keeping AeroGel
from being produced commercially. Specifically what cost so much
was the supercritical extraction
process. This includes three factors which hurt a company’s production
cost: 1, the supercritical extraction of methanol, 2, the heating of the autoclave
steel, and 3, heat loss due to surroundings in manufacturing process. Also don’t
forget about the costs of the specific materials used to make AeroGel including
methanol, sodium silicate, resorcinol and more. Today the cost of the raw materials
has decreased due to technological advances. To be specific, AeroGel costs, such
as sodium silicate costs $0.63 per board foot and Resorcinol runs $1.34 per board
foot.
Thanks to technological advances and ingenious engineer troubleshooting
through the years, AeroGel has become a revolutionary product
which can be produced commercially
for consumers at a much lower cost than ever before.