Aerogel Academy

In 2014, a polar vortex descended on the Northern United States with a severe impact on the power industry. More than 19,500 megawatts of generating capacity was lost due to cold weather, and 17,700 MW was because of frozen equipment, according to a review by the North American Electric Reliability Corp.

During this event, cold took down nearly every type of equipment found on electric generating plants. Much of the damage was attributed to equipment not having been designed to withstand such extreme cold (Energywire, Oct. 1, 2014). Since this time—and even more so following the polar vortex in the Midwestern U.S. in 2019—many plants have reconsidered their winterization plans. Is your plant ready for a deep freeze?

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – tried and tested advice, BUT what if it is truly broken and compromising safety or efficiency?  Pyrogel insulation owes much of its early success to problem solving, responding to a frustrated call for a different outcome.  The story goes like this: solve the problem, the customer identifies additional areas for application, Pyrogel delivers, pains become gains, and Pyrogel displaces the incumbent insulation.