Green light for VIP project

The EU's sustainable development project aiming to reduce energy consumption has led to the recently concluded Vacuum Insulating Panels (VIP) project, initiated in 2001. According to the designers, these panels provide 5-7 times more insulating capacity than current technologies; the innovative design of a thermal insulation panel wrapping made of a laminate of several layers of plastic, which is then vacuum sealed, will serve to enhance conventional thermal insulation materials used in buildings, packaging for isothermal transport of products and for use in fridges and freezers. In addition, these VIPs require neither a modification of their thickness nor a reduction in the useful volume of the transport unit or storage element. With large input from Gaiker, the consortium developed a technology with a view to the recycling and recovery of these new VIPs during the manufacturing stage, offering a considerable environmental benefit. These systems double the service life of the isothermal wrappings and reduce energy consumption by almost 10% throughout the entire life span (about 15 years) of a fridge.