Natural insulation from feathers

The poultry industry produces a significant amount of waste. In Europe alone, about three million tonnes of feathers accumulate each year, which are either burned or processed into low-quality animal fodder. There are currently a number of projects using feathers as a raw material for a variety of different applications. In the packaging sector, too, the natural properties of feathers can be utilised. For example, the British start-up Aeropowder has developed a biodegradable packaging material which makes use of the naturally insulating properties of feathers and which was conceived for cold chain logistics.   

Feathers are made of keratin, a chemically resistant and physically firm protein, which is of interest also to science. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have, for example, launched a shared project with the world’s market leader in adhesives, Henkel, and developed a process by which the biobased raw material keratin can be extracted from feathers and used as a raw material for the production of different adhesives for different areas of application. Chicken feathers can even make electricity more green: Researchers at the ETH Zurich and the Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU) have succeeded in turning the protein keratin gained from the feathers into finest fibres, so-called amyloid fibrils. These are then used in the core piece of a fuel cell, a semi-permeable membrane, where they replace toxic chemicals.

The start-up Aeropowder which has its headquarters in West London had a different idea and developed the world’s first sustainable insulating material, PluumoPlus, from feathers. There has been an application for a patent for the insulating material, which aims to replace expanded polystyrene as a thermal packaging material and which as a next step is supposed to be used to store and transport temperature-sensitive goods, for example therapeutic substances and medicinal drugs. According to the manufacturer, the sustainable material is able to maintain a core temperature of 2 to 6°C over 72 hours, even if outside ambient temperatures over this period of time average at 30°C.

Due to their microscopically small hollow fibre structure, feathers are among the lightest natural fibres ever and provide excellent heat insulation. The founders of Aeropowder therefore were sure that there must be a better use for surplus feathers than their disposal, and have developed a sustainable insulating material. Before production, the feathers are first cleaned and treated according to international standards of hygiene. Then, they can be wrapped in an exterior, starch-based film and finally processed into PluumoPlus liners. When developing the product, Aeropowder worked together with Indorama Ventures Fibers Germany GmbH, which developed binding fibres from two different biopolymers for the new product. The cooperation provided the possibility to produce a wholly biodegradable insulating material. In practice, using two PluumoPlus liners inside a delivery box and another, thinner liner which wraps around the payload creates a robust thermal barrier which protects the temperature-sensitive content.

Currently, the start-up has secured an investment of 150,000 pounds from the British Design Fund and is going to use this monetary boon for bringing PluumoPlus to the market. Damon Bonser, CEO of the British Design Fund: “Aeropowder meets all our criteria. They are a creative and ambitious team which has developed an innovative range of products which has the potential to have a positive impact the world over. Innovations like these, which support the transition into sustainable materials, are very important.” The British Design Fund is a British early-phase investor in the manufacturing industry and supports ambitious start-ups along their journey toward growth. 

“The investment by the British Design Fund will make a significant contribution to us producing our first batches of PluumoPlus and being able to deliver them to customers from the pharmaceutical and logistics sectors, which are already waiting,” says Aeropowder co-founder and biologist, Dr Ryan Robinson. “Over the next 12 months, we will then concentrate on expanding the production capacities for PluumoPlus and on developing further feather-based products.”