Outlast Technologies GmbH has received the prestigious WTiN Innovate Textile Award in the Material Innovation category, recognising the company’s advanced development of Aersulate®, a next-generation insulation technology that integrates aerogel into textile structures. The award celebrates outstanding achievements in advanced materials and textile innovation that deliver meaningful performance benefits across industries.
Aersulate® represents a major leap forward in thermal insulation technology. By incorporating aerogel—an ultra-light material with an extremely porous structure that efficiently traps air—the technology delivers exceptional thermal insulation while maintaining minimal weight and thickness. In Aersulate® waddings, aerogel constitutes approximately 50 percent of the material volume, enabling high insulation performance without the bulk typically associated with conventional solutions.
Thanks to its minimal space requirements, Aersulate® opens the door to entirely new applications and enables solutions that were previously impossible due to limited available space. Importantly, Aersulate® fabrics and waddings retain nearly their full thermal performance even when exposed to compression and humidity. Unlike traditional insulation materials, the technology provides reliable warmth and comfort under demanding conditions, making it particularly suited for environments where consistent performance is critical.
Recognising its strategic potential, Outlast Technologies is positioning Aersulate® for wide-scale market adoption across multiple high-value segments.
“We will deploy our Aersulate® fabrics and waddings across multiple high-value product segments – including bedding, safety equipment, footwear, and apparel. Our goal is clear: to establish Aersulate® as a scalable performance solution with broad market applicability wherever thermal management, comfort, and lightweight insulation make the difference,” said Martin Bentz, CEO of Outlast Technologies GmbH.
Reflecting on the significance of the recognition, Bentz highlighted the complexity of working with aerogel as a textile material. Despite being extremely lightweight, aerogel is also highly fragile, making it challenging to process, integrate, and stabilise within textile structures. Successfully transforming this advanced material into scalable, durable fabrics and waddings requires deep material expertise, precision engineering, and sustained research—capabilities Outlast has developed systematically over many years.
“Winning this award makes us genuinely proud. It is a strong recognition of our work and a clear confirmation that we are on the right path with innovative insulation solutions like Aersulate® – solutions that resonate with market needs and set new standards for performance,” Bentz added.
The award further reinforces Outlast Technologies’ position as a leader in advanced thermal management solutions and highlights the growing role of aerogel-based materials in shaping the future of high-performance textiles.