How Nanotech Materials Can Support Net Zero Buildings with Nathan Kegel

The Green Impact Report Quick take: What if a coating 1 millimeter thick could insulate like a thick layer of conventional material, and you could prove it without waiting a year on a pilot? Nathan Kegel spent 20-plus years in energy modelling. Now he's at a materials science startup, building the simulation engine that tests its products before they ever reach a roof. Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion Nathan Kegel leads energy services at Nanotech Materials. He grew up outside Green Bay, Wisconsin, working on a neighbor's sweet corn farm (and he's still a Packers fan). He studied at the University of Minnesota and started out designing HVAC and plumbing systems. He soon moved into energy simulation, the part of the job he found more interesting. Over about 20 years he worked on some of the early net zero and LEED Platinum lab projects in California and built building performance teams at architecture and engineering firms. He also spent roughly a decade, on and off, at IES, helping bring advanced building simulation software to North America. He's based in the Twin Cities and reads philosophy and the classics for fun. 🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building In this episode, Nathan Kegel rethinks how we insulate buildings and how we prove that new materials work: Key Insight #1: Insulation doesn't have to mean thickness The Challenge: The industry rates insulation by R-value, and thickness is part of that calculation. More resistance has meant more material, more depth and more weight. Nathan half-jokes that R-value is "the bane of my existence." The Solution: Nanotech Materials puts a silica-based particle into coatings like acrylics and epoxies. Nathan says the particle has a K-value (thermal conductivity) on par with aerogel, without aerogel's brittleness. Applied about 1 millimeter thick on a roof, the coating can essentially stop heat conduction through it. ROI: According to Nathan, the roof product is rated for Florida's 200 mph impact standard. A related spray-on coating, developed with the state of California, protects timber from wildfire and resists heat up to 1,800°C with very low smoke. You get thermal performance and resilience from one thin layer. Key Insight #2: Stop running endless pilots The Challenge: A startup can't coat a roof and wait a year to see if it worked. As Nathan puts it, "you might not be in business a year." Slow field pilots stall innovation across the industry. The Solution: One of Nanotech's co-founders built a new physics engine from scratch rather than relying on older simulation code. It has been validated under ASHRAE Standard 140. Nathan is bringing it to market, starting with services and eventually opening the full platform to project teams. ROI: Validated simulation means faster, more confident decisions about new materials. Teams can predict performance instead of waiting for it. Key Insight #3: Coat the pipe instead of jacketing it The Challenge: Traditional pipe insulation needs aluminum-jacketed systems that take a lot of labor to install. Moisture can also get trapped between the insulation and the pipe, which causes corrosion under insulation (CUI). The Solution: A coating a couple of millimeters thick, adhered directly to the metal, stops heat transfer without the jacket. ROI: Nathan says this greatly reduces labor costs and nearly prevents corrosion under insulation, so the system costs less upfront and lasts longer. 💬 Sustainable Soundbite Options "If you really want to make the world a better place, define what that better place looks like and then work toward it, and you will be rewarded. Yes, there's going to be setbacks, but just be relentless in that pursuit of learning more and more." – Nathan Kegel 💚 Your Green Building Action Plan Transform your next project with these steps: This Week: Do the jargon check Nathan recommends. Before your next presentation to an owner or your boss, figure out who the audience is, list your technical jargon, and rewrite your pitch at their level. This Quarter: Find one place where thickness drives your current spec, such as roof insulation, pipe jacketing or a retrofit with tight clearances. Ask what thin-film or high-performance coating alternatives would do to cost, labor and durability. This Year: Start with the end in mind. Don't ask "What will building design look like in 2030?" Define what you want your projects, team or firm to look like, then work backward and use energy modeling to test the path before you commit. 🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌿 Access full episode resources: https://www.gbes.com/podcast 🗒️ Read the transcript: here 🧩 Connect with Nathan Kegel: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathankegel/ Learn more about Nanotech Materials: https://nanotechmaterials.com/ 💚 Join the Green Building Movement: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 💡 Want More Green Building Insights? Get sustainability tips 2x a week. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here: https://www.greenbuilding.news/subscribe 🤝 Today's Episode Sponsored By: Building Plaques Building Plaques creates custom LEED recognition plaques that tell the story of your project's sustainability achievement, made from architectural-grade anodized aluminum so they last as long as the building itself. Their online plaque designer lets you build a fully customized plaque in under 10 minutes. Just enter your LEED project number and you're off. 🔍 Learn more: https://buildingplaques.com Green Building Matters, Inc © 2026 | Good Green Fun.