7/3/2013 ENERG-ICE LIFE08 ENV/IT/000411

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2 Dow Italia (The Dow Chemical Company group), Afros and Crios (Cannon Group), and Federchimica are partners in the Energ-Ice Project funded by LIFE, the EU Community financial instrument supporting environmental and nature conservation projects. The Project focuses on reducing the environmental impact of Energy-using Products, such as cold appliances, by taking action at the design stage, where the pollution caused during the product's life cycle can be best prevented. The project showcases an innovative polyurethane foaming technology for manufacturing the insulation filling material of cold appliances (refrigerators and freezers) reducing the carbon footprint using low GWP blowing agents such as Cyclo-pentane. 2

3 Dow Italia Dow Italia is a diversified chemical company, offering a large range of chemical products and services in Italy and in the European market. Dow Italia operates in Italy through five production facilities located all over the country, with its headquarters in Milan. Dow Italia is a subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company. Dow combines the power of science and technology with the Human Element to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation. Dow s diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The Company s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 countries across the globe. Dow believes that connecting chemistry and innovation can generate new ways to solve challenges and exceed customer expectations. The company believes that taking the extra step to be socially responsible does not hold us back, but instead sets us apart. Dow believes in the worth of our people, in the value of each individual employee and their differing experiences, backgrounds and perspectives. Dow believes in the power of difference. Every day, we strive to build a culture that embraces innovation, responsibility and diversity. More information about Dow can be found al Background and Challenges The household sector is one of the largest users of electrical energy in the European Economic Area, consuming 29% of total electrical energy. Cold appliances (refrigerators and freezers) account for 25% of household energy consumption Today The Directive 2006/32/EC on energy end-use efficiency and energy services acknowledges the vast potential for energy reduction and requires Member States to draw up National Action Plans (NAPs) to achieve a minimum of 9% final (end-use) energy savings from on almost all energy use, including home use. Energy label drives innovation. 3

4 Objectives The overall objectives of the project are to demonstrate that: A new technology employing a hydrocarbons blowing agent can be used in Europe to improve the insulation properties of PU foams for cold appliances in a more cost-efficient way The manufacturing of cold appliances, including the impact of end-use disposal on the environment can be much more environmentally friendly and sustainable than standard processes The new technology will give scope for defining new standards for hydrocarbon blown foams with improved insulation properties superior to those employed today and giving current A+/A++ labelling The energy consumption of cold appliances in Europe can be reduced by 10% with respect to the best-available appliances produced today with a positive impact on the European and worldwide market 4

5 Technology: Sustainability Breakthrough for the Appliance Industry Uses specially formulated polyurethane foam from Dow and vacuum assisted injection equipment from Afros-Cannon SpA Boosts energy efficiency of appliances up to 10% Decreases fill time by seconds Allows 50% faster demolding times or productivity Saves 8 kg of CO 2 emissions per year per appliance Market potential to save 1.2 million tons of CO 2 emissions each year the equivalent of taking 213,000 cars off the road 9 5

6 7/3/2013 Main Results and Experiences It is possible to implement a new insulation technology to inject cold appliances such as refrigerators and freezers using vacuum assisted injection providing cost-effective, eco-design, environmental-friendly and superior energy savings Compared to current injection technology, allows the achievement of : 8% PU energy efficiency improvement with Cyclo-pentane blowing agent 11% PU energy efficiency improvement with a new blowing agent having low GWP (comparable to that of Cyclopentane) ( RHL is the PU energy efficiency improvement (%) R H 8 L 6 ) % Door* (%) 4 2 RHL cabinet (%) 0 reference Refrigerator Customer Long-term Benefits Superior eco-design / environmental friendly technology certified by the Life Cycle Analysis 10% less electricity use translates to about 10% reduction in all potential cradle-to-grave impacts assessment GHGs Energy Water Acid-gas Land Nutrients Energ-Ice Energ-Ice Energ-Ice Energ-Ice Toxicity Smog.. Additional demonstrated benefits: Optimized distribution of foam density throughout the entire cabinet s cavity to insulate Reduction of polymerization time per foaming station, cut nearly in half Reduced plant's floor space due to significant productivity improvement Safety of operations and ease of process 6

7 7/3/2013 Dissemination European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potocnik visits the Dow Greenweek exhibit. From right to left: Lee Mertens (Dow), Vanni Parenti (Dow), European Commissioner Potocnik, Christina von Westernhagen (Dow) and Marta Varela (Dow). The LIFE Programme The LIFE programme is the EU s funding instrument for the environment. The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental policy and legislation by co-financing pilot or demonstration projects with European added value. LIFE began in 1992 and to date there have been three complete phases of the programme (LIFE I: , LIFE II: and LIFE III: ). During this period, LIFE has co-financed some 3104 projects across the EU, contributing approximately 2.2 billion to the protection of the environment. LIFE+ ( ) The current phase of the programme, LIFE+, runs from and has a budget of billion. The legal basis for LIFE+ is the Regulation (EC) No 614/2007. LIFE+ covers both the operational expenditure of DG Environment and the co-financing of projects. According to Article 6 of the LIFE+ Regulation, at least 78 percent of the LIFE+ budgetary resources must be used for project action grants (i.e. LIFE+ projects). During the period , the European Commission will launch one call for LIFE+ project proposals per year. Proposals must be eligible under one of the programme s three components: LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity, LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance, and LIFE+ Information and Communication. Our project benefited from the LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance programme. LIFE+ Environment Policy & Governance The Environment Policy & Governance component continues and extends the former LIFE Environment programme. It will co-finance innovative or pilot projects that contribute to the implementation of European environmental policy and the development of innovative policy ideas, technologies, methods and instruments. It will also help monitor pressures (including the long-term monitoring of forests and environmental interactions) on our environment. More information about the LIFE Programme can be found at 7

8 For more information, please visit About Dow Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow s diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2011, Dow had annual sales of $60 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 197 sites in 36 countries across the globe.more information about Dow can be found at Dow, The Dow Diamond logo are registered Form