Description Millions of buildings worldwide rely on spray foam, glass wool or RockWool insulations, all chemical products that improve the energy efficiency and thermal performance of a building. Despite their energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness benefits, they are still fossil fuel based and not climate friendly. A zero-emission society will not rely on products that stem from fossil fuel extraction. Finding strategies to replace petrochemical products with bio-based products should be a priority but it comes with challenges. Currently, the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory (AMRL) is setting up a consortium and plans for a large development programme in collaboration with ACS Clothing, Fashion Enter, Fashion Roundtable and the Scottish Government, part of which will investigate the potential of natural wool (whether is virgin or recycled) as insulation alternative. This project investigates the feasibility of moving away from synthetic insulations using bio-based insulation alternatives. It will be a combination of a desktop exercise and experimental activities. The desktop exercise will gain an understanding of how to convert renewable biological resources and waste streams into value-added products, such as bio-based products and bioenergy; it will define the building insulation market in its current state of the art and identify the challenges associated with transitioning to a bioeconomy. The experimental activities will focus on benchmarking the thermal response and other key properties of the current insulation solutions against those of virgin and recycled natural wool. Key Objectives • Gain an understanding of the process for insulating a building with natural wool, virgin and/or recycled, with focus on replacement strategies that account also for reuse, recycling and remanufacture of wool-based garments. • Assess the advantages of using natural wool, virgin and/or recycled, as insulation, and whether there are any drawbacks. Successful outcomes will include an understanding of the market size, the sustainability of harvesting natural wool, the timescale associated with parts requiring recycling as well as the actual process for harvesting the wool fibres. This will be coupled with the current routes for disposal of garments, which are not presently seen as both technologically and economically viable for recirculating. • Engage with both internal and external organisations including manufacturers, industry trade bodies and academia to gain a better understanding and familiarisation with the sector. • Assess and benchmark the thermal response of synthetic and natural insulation materials, virgin and recycled. Specifically, define their thermal conductivity/resistance, heat storage capacity, thermal diffusivity and efficiency, permeability to humidity and water, and performance to wet environment.