Materials for Weather Protection of Buildings

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NineSights Community – Request for Proposal: ‪Materials for Weather Protection of Buildings‬

Due Date: April 4, 2019

Opportunity

The RFP sponsor is open to a range of potential outcomes – licensing, technology acquisition, contract research, joint development, supplier agreement, etc

Timeline

Phase 1 – up to six (6) months from selection of submitted proposals during which the concept is validated/demonstrated and strategies for commercial development are developed

Phase 2 – 18-24 month period during which the technology is demonstrated in pilot line

Financials

Funding up to US$ 75,000 for development of a suitable solution.

Alternatively, the RFP sponsor will consider any reasonable business relationship with qualified partner(s) selected on the ability to address the issues described in this project.

RFP Title
Materials for Weather Protection of Buildings

RFP Description

NineSigma, representing a major building materials manufacturer, invites proposals for methods, materials, or novel approaches to re-inventing weather protection for residential buildings. The weather barrier may be directly exposed or behind a decorative façade, and should be able to withstand thermal, moisture, and UV environments for at least 10 years. Solutions that do not need a decorative façade, that provide lower installed/labor cost versus current solutions, or are cradle-to-cradle approaches are strongly preferred. Solutions that impact vapor barrier, roofing, or sheathing applications are also strongly preferred. The partner is open to a wide range of potential solutions (e.g., replacement with alternative substances, new material architectures, novel processing methods) that can achieve this objective.

Background

Residential homes in North America currently use 13.5 billion square feet of asphalt shingles, over 25 billion square feet of vapor barrier products, and billions of board feet of sheathing. The solutions for these markets are under intense pressure for a variety of reasons, including labor shortages, disposal/sustainability, and evolving building codes for fortified or storm-resistant building design.

The RFP sponsor is seeking novel approaches to weatherproofing for residential construction in North America. Potential solutions from adjacent industries are of significant interest to this client, including approaches that include new or novel materials, innovations in manufacturing processes, and engineering solutions.

Key Success Criteria

The technology must:

  • Perform as well as, or better than, weatherproofing approaches currently used in commercial and residential buildings
  • Maintain weatherproofing performance characteristics for a minimum of 10 years
  • Be able to demonstrate protection from UV exposure, thermal conditions, moisture and vapor permeability without loss of mechanical integrity
  • Demonstrate a clear path to high volume production
  • Be able to reduce installed cost benefit for currently used approaches in conventional wood frame construction by at least 20%, ideally greater than 50%

Possible Approaches

Possible approaches might include, but are not limited to:

  • Materials substitution, functional materials, engineered products, or material structures
  • Weatherproofing agents or additives that impart weatherproofing properties in construction materials
  • Modifications to current manufacturing processes
  • Additive manufacturing (3-D Printing)
  • Micro-scale structural reorganization
  • Coatings, surface treatments, sealing agents, or other post-processing solutions

Approaches not of Interest

The following approaches are not of interest:

  • Approaches that do not have a demonstrable path to high volume production, or that do not save labor
  • Modifications of current weatherproofing approaches (e.g. asphalt, Tyvek, etc.) that do not significantly improve performance and/or meet the desired price point noted in this RFP
  • Materials or solutions that cannot meet safety or toxicity standards for residential home construction in the U.S.
  • Concepts, ideas, or any early-stage technology that has not yet been demonstrated at lab or pilot scale

Items to be Submitted

Your response should address the following:

  • Non-confidential description of proposed technology and working principle
  • Availability of technical data including weather resistance performance, MSDS, manufacturability, permeability, and durability
  • Technical maturity of the approach (concept, reduced to practice, prototype, ready to commercialize, ready to implement, commercialized)
  • Pathway to commercial scale including timing, estimated budget, and capacity for manufacture
  • Estimated unit cost of proposed technology
  • Position on intellectual property including patent references
  • Desired relationship with sponsor
  • Team description and related experience