Worldwide population growth, continued geopolitical conflict in oil-producing regions, volatile energy prices, and heightened concerns of climate change are fueling demands for energy efficiency—specifically for products that can cut energy consumption and costs, reduce dependence on oil, and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gases. According to Inc. Magazine, commercial and residential buildings account for nearly 40% of energy used in the U.S., with an estimated 52% of CO2 emissions tied specifically to the built environment. Thus, “greening up” the U.S.’s buildings, roads, and other infrastructure represents a big challenge and, concurrently, a big opportunity going forward that we here at Crystal Research Associates are excited to watch.
But the greening of America is not the only trend that we expect to impact U.S. building in the coming years. In parallel with a global movement toward more energy-efficient, sustainable products, much of the infrastructure in the U.S. is reaching the end of its lifecycle, necessitating either repair or new, improved construction. These needs for both greening up U.S. infrastructure as well as for retrofitting the existing built environment are being achieved throughnanotechnology, which is shaping up to become a driving force for innovation and sustainability in the 21st century and beyond. Nanotechnology enables new approaches to solving many of today’s social, economic, environmental, and infrastructure concerns, and in doing so, is changing the landscape of virtually every aspect of the built environment. The potential benefits of energy-saving, ecofriendly, nano-based materials are considerable. Fueled by an array of such startups and new technologies, the global market for green building materials to date has become a $156 billion industry per year.
“Nanotechnology & the Built Environment: the Transition to Green Infrastructure” is a 76-page, comprehensive report on the impact of advanced materials on the infrastructure markets. This report details breakthrough innovations in cement, bricks, insulation, windows, LED lighting, building-integrated photovoltaics, steel, smart grid technologies, sensors, water, and HVAC systems. Over 100 companies, research institutions, and key investors are included, as well as market snapshots for many of the key building materials sectors.
Nanotechnology & the Built Environment is only our initial report on this breakthrough field. For continuing nanotech/advanced building materials coverage and alerts for updated research, you can follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Some of the entities covered in the report are…
A. Schulman, Inc. (SHLM-NASDAQ)
Abakan, Inc. (ABKI-OTC)
Aspen Aerogels, Inc.
BASF SE (BASFY-OTC)
Bridgelux, Inc.
Cabot Corporation (CBT-NYSE)
Calera Corp.
Calgon Carbon Corporation (CCC-NYSE)
CalStar Products, Inc.
FRX Polymers, Inc.
General Electric Company (GE-NYSE)
HelioVolt Corporation
Hexcel Corporation (HXL-NYSE)
Honeywell International (HON-NYSE)
Hüper Optik USA (Hüper Optik International Pte., Ltd.)
Hycrete, Inc.
Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI-NYSE)
Lemnis Lighting B.V. (and its subsidiary Lemnis, Inc.)
MiaSolé
MMFX Technologies Corporation
Opower, Inc.
PURETi Inc.
Serious Energy, Inc.
Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW-NYSE)
Siemens AG (SI-NYSE)
Silver Spring Networks, Inc.
Soladigm, Inc.
Tendril Networks Inc.
The NanoSteel Company, Inc.
Titanium Metals (TIE-NYSE)