New Insulated Metal Panels without Halogenated Flame Retardants

In 2013, Kingspan quietly became the first company to eliminate halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) from its insulated metal panels (IMP). IMPs combine cladding and insulation in one product, and their use can save resources, labor, and time, but their insulation typically contains HFRs that have a high risk of environmental persistence and toxicity. Kingspan’s flame retardant was based on a different chemistry but was only available in the company’s IMPs by special order and was not mass produced. That has now changed.

HFR-free foams soon began going mainstream. Polyisocyanurate (polyiso) board insulation manufacturers Johns Manville (JM) and GAF released HFR-free products in the past few years—though JM’s were only available by special order and were discontinued in 2017. And two insulated metal panel manufacturers are now making HFR-free foam a standard offering. Centria was the first to do so with its Formawall system in late 2017, and Kingspan will be following suit with the official launch of its HFR-free Quadcore later this year.