Spain’s Technological Institute of Construction (Aidico), Technology Institute for Furniture, Wood and Packaging (Aidima), Technological Institute of Plastics (Aimplas) and the Institute of Ceramic Technology (ITC) are together developing nanotechnology solutions to improve fire resistance in construction.

The project, called Aislafoc, is aimed at overcoming the current limitations of polymeric foams that are today used for fire safety in construction. To this end the project is taking advantage of the latest advances in nanomaterials.

These foams can be employed during construction in order to insulate floors and walls, thus making these surfaces more fire retardant and at the same time improving a structure’s energy efficiency.

Aislafoc is currently in the design phase of the project, both in terms of the manufacturing process for the insulation foam as well as compatible nanotechnology applications.

The goal is to identify construction solutions for floors and walls that can be combined with other materials such as cement, wood and ceramics.