Background The domestic household sector is one of the largest consumers of electrical energy in the EU, consuming around 30% of the total electrical energy supply. The total energy consumption of EU households in 2010 was about 840 TWh/yr, with a per capita consumption of 6.2 MWh/yr, distributed over 140 million households. In the past few years, the development of new green technologies has helped to reduce the energy consumption of individual electrical devices. However, at the same time, the number of such devices has increased dramatically, as has the amount of time they are typically in use. Thus, overall energy consumption has still increased. Cold appliances - refrigerators and freezers - accounted for 14.5% of household energy consumption in 2010. Currently, most households still use old, energy-inefficient cold appliances. Objectives The LIFE+ K-12 project aims to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of manufacturing an innovative, polyurethane (PU) foam for improving thermal insulation and, thus, the energy efficiency of households’ cold appliances. In doing so it aims to contribute to the EU’s goals of creating an energy-efficient economy and mitigating the threat of global warming. The project seeks to define at least 2-3 formulations of innovative, open cell PU foams, with different chemistry, and to make corresponding adaptations to the manufacturing process at pre-industrial scale. Manufacturing adaptations will include the design of a new injection mix-head, the optimisation of the foaming injection parameters, and using CO2 as a blowing agent. The project will demonstrate this innovative foaming technology at pilot scale, and validate the thermal conductivity improvements of the new foam through efficiency tests. The real applied thermal-insulation - and thus energy-saving - benefits will be tested on 30-50 prototype refrigerators. LIFE+ K-12 will develop European and global ‘market introduction impact scenarios’ for the new foam, and conduct a special product life cycle analysis (LCA). The results will be used to quantify the environmental impact of a potential market introduction of the innovative foam, in terms of reduced energy consumption and carbon footprint. Expected results: A new manufacturing process at pilot scale - with optimised foaming injection parameters and an new injection mix-head - for the production of an innovative, open cell PU foam; A 30% improvement in the thermal conductivity performance of the new foam, compared to the current best in class with closed cell PU foams; A 20% reduction in the energy consumption of cold appliances, with respect to the current best in class labelled A+/A++; Energy consumption in the overall fridge industrial production process reduced by up to 50%; Demonstrated feasibility of applying the novel insulation material with a zero ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential) and minimum – reduced to 1 - GWP (Global Warming Potential); Demonstrated feasibility of up-scaling the production of the new open cell PU insulation foam.