If the Marine & Offshore sector is often considered a polluting sector, in particular as a strong emitter of CO2, the industry has understood the urgency to act and is committed more than ever to reducing its environmental footprint.
In 2020, The International Maritime Organisation chose “sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet” as its main theme for the year. The organisation set stricter regulations, from construction to decommissioning, to trigger intensive research and development in more sustainable technologies.
Sustainable marine - Insulation matching green energy
While the main fields of action are alternative fuels (such as green methanol, hydrogen, fuel cells) and electrified transport (battery-powered ships, port charging solutions), we talk less often about lightweight materials and the potential for optimisation that these offer to green shipbuilding.
Sustainable energy is essential to drive this change, but its consumption can be largely optimised using lightweight solutions. Reducing the weight of the insulation can have a huge positive impact on the overall fuel consumption. ISOVER sustainable marine solutions allow naval architects, ship owners, installers and other sector players to get in line with modern sustainable shipping standards.
Sustainable insulation solutions for green shipbuilding
Sustainable shipping is transforming our approach to Marine & Offshore at every step, from manufacturing to recycling, without never compromising performance, quality and comfort.
We focus on innovative solutions to get lighter, energy efficient and therefore more sustainable, in order to lower ships’ and offshore units’ environmental footprint.
Our innovation is driven by two main aims:
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Reduce energy consumption
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Efficiently manage raw materials and waste
Save energy with ISOVER lightweight insulation solutions
We strive to use more recycled or renewable resources, and in recent years, we have reduced by 25% the energy consumption of our production sites. In addition to this, in the last 10 years, we lowered our carbon emissions by 20% and our water consumption by 50%.
But lifecycle doesn’t end at the manufacturing step. We developed our products to be as light and compressible as possible, in order to optimise logistics and therefore reduce transport emissions. For example, the U SeaProtect™ range is up to 45% lighter than traditional stone wool, helping ships and offshore units minimise their weight and thus their energy consumption.
Fuel represents a big part of a ship’s energy consumption, but HVAC is also responsible for up to 35% of it. Insulation allows HVAC systems to drastically reduce their thermal loss, to help saving energy, cost, and enhancing comfort for the passengers.
Exemple : Compressing of ULTIMATE™ mats into rolls
Using rolls of 24kg/m3 thick of 50mm instead of slabs gives you 75% more m2 per pallet and in the truck. The transport cost per m2 using rolls is therefore 42% lower. In terms of distribution, 42% less space is occupied and 1.7 times fewer operations are required for loading and carrying the pallet :
Sustainable and healthy marine insulation materials
Our products are made of mineral wool, manufactured from natural materials, but we strive to constantly increase the amount of recycled content in their production.
Also, our mineral wools are recyclable at the end of their life cycle.
Our commitment to protect the planet extends to the people living on it, from our employees to customers, end users and local populations. We constantly push for a general transition towards more sustainable shipping and offshore operations, for example advocating European guidelines disclosing and assessing hazardous substances.
Our eyes are above all kept on our products, making sure they never contain any hazardous substances. A third-party oversight such as EUCEB certifications ensures our mineral wool products will never be carcinogenic, in line with European Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008.
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