Sustainability
AirSponge replaces disposable desiccants — silica gel sachets and calcium chloride tubs alike — with a passive, self-regenerating material that creates no waste and requires no intervention.
The problem
On small enclosures, billions of silica gel sachets. On large volumes, millions of calcium chloride tubs. Both are recurring disposable consumables, rarely tracked on product bills of materials.
~1 Mt / yr
Global annual consumption
~950 kt of silica gel (sachets) + ~80-140 kt of calcium chloride (tubs and sachets) dedicated to humidity regulation. Billions of disposable units placed on the market every year.
2 to 4 months
Replacement frequency
Silica gel sachet in humid environments (2-3 months) or calcium chloride tub in industrial cabinets (3-4 months). More frequent in tropical zones.
0%
Recyclable in standard streams
Silica gel goes to landfill; calcium chloride produces corrosive brine requiring specific disposal. No circular stream established.
Two use cases, same logic
Silica gel and calcium chloride address different volumes but share the same industrial logic: a disposable consumable replaced at service intervals. AirSponge replaces both with the same permanent material (SRD).
IP65+ enclosures, outdoor IoT sensors, telecom cabinets, in-cabinet EV charging electronics, automotive ECUs.
Consumable replaced: silica gel sachet (1 to 25 g)
Typical frequency: 3 to 6 replacements / year
Waste / enclosure / 10 yrs: ~150 g
Industrial electrical cabinets, maritime containers, technical rooms, storage workshops, 5G cabinets.
Consumable replaced: calcium chloride tub (~2 kg)
Typical frequency: 3 to 4 replacements / year
Waste / installation / 5 yrs: ~40 kg + brine
→ Two formats, one active material (mesoporous SRD alumina). Learn more about the material.
The response
AirSponge's SRD (Self-Regenerating Desiccant) adsorbs water vapor — like silica gel or calcium chloride — but spontaneously regenerates at every thermal cycle. Without energy, without replacement, for the lifetime of the installation.
0
Consumable
One install, no replacement for the lifetime of the installation.
0
Reverse logistics
No collection, no brine to dispose of, no recurring maintenance.
0
Waste generated
Vs. ~150 g silica gel / enclosure / 10 yrs — or ~40 kg CaCl₂ / installation / 5 yrs.
Fleet-level impact
Small IP65+ enclosures (AS-B)
1,000
enclosures
~150 kg
over 10 years
Silica gel 5 g × 3 replacements/yr · AS-B ROI calculator
Large volumes — cabinets, containers (AS-C)
100
installations
~4 t
over 5 years
CaCl₂ tub 2 kg × 4 cycles/yr · ~33 m³ container · AS-C range
Addressable market-level impact
AS-B segment · Silica gel · IP65+ enclosures
So Sponge addressable market
~1.3 M
IP65+ units / year (17% of global TAM)
~20 t / yr
~200 tonnes of silica gel avoided over 10 years
Global IP65+ electronics / IoT TAM
5-10 M
units produced every year
~75-150 t / yr
~750-1,500 tonnes over 10 years at full penetration
AS-C segment · Calcium chloride · cabinets & containers
So Sponge addressable market
~200-500 k
installations / year (~10-15% of global TAM)
~1.6-4 kt / yr
~8-20 kt of chloride avoided over 5 years
Global cabinets & containers TAM
2-5 M
installations / yr using CaCl₂ routinely
~16-40 kt / yr
~80-200 kt over 5 years at full penetration
Assumptions: 1 L enclosure with 5 g sachet × 3 replacements/yr (AS-B); ~33 m³ installation with 2 kg tub × 4 cycles/yr (AS-C). AS-C TAM estimated from the global active container fleet and deployed industrial cabinets — indicative order of magnitude, to be validated case by case.
Regulatory context
New EU directives turn the industrial consumable question into a mandatory reporting and eco-design requirement.
EU Regulation 2024/1781, in force since July 2024. Sets durability, reparability and recycled-content requirements on almost every product placed on the EU market — including components of electronic equipment.
AirSponge view: a solution that generates no disposable consumable strengthens the host product's durability as defined by ESPR.
The CSRD directive requires large EU companies to disclose resource use, waste generation and circular economy strategy (ESRS E5). Recurring consumables are material.
AirSponge view: the switch to a permanent desiccant is measurable and documentable — a direct narrative lever.
GHG Protocol — Scope 3 categories affected by a recurring consumable: Purchased Goods (1), Waste (5), End-of-life (12). Each replacement feeds all three.
AirSponge view: zero replacement = the recurring flow in these 3 categories is suppressed.
Target segments
Segments where enclosure volumes, field service cost and regulatory exposure all converge.
Outdoor telecom enclosures market: USD 3.1B in 2024 → USD 5.9–9.4B by 2033 (CAGR 6.8-6.9%). 5G rollout and street cabinets multiply distributed maintenance points.
Key argument: the dominant cost is the truck roll, not the sachet.
Fast-growing fleets, outdoor street deployment. An AirSponge field test maintained humidity < 80% throughout the full unfavourable season inside an EV charging station cabinet — no intervention.
Key argument: aligned with mobility operators' carbon targets.
Distributed sensors (environment, smart metering, public lighting). Fleets of thousands to hundreds of thousands of units. Every service visit to replace a sachet erases years of sensor ROI.
Key argument: aligned with battery lifetime.
Field test with CAPSA on 10 ft non-insulated maritime containers: the AS-C tape kept humidity under 80% over 6 months with no intervention. Typical volume: several m³.
Key argument: replaces several kg of silica gel per shipping cycle.
The ROI calculator shows both waste avoided and maintenance savings based on your annual equipment volume.
Sources: Grand View Research, Straits Research, Business Research Company (silica gel market); Business Research Insights, ChemAnalyst, Archive Market Research, Clariant, Absortech (calcium chloride desiccant market and products); Business Research Insights, Growth Market Reports, SkyQuest (outdoor telecom and IoT enclosures); Interteck, Wisedry, Yomesorb (silica gel sachet specifications); DampRid, Rubson, Humydry (consumer CaCl₂ tub specifications); UNCTAD (maritime container volumes); NLWA, Conserve Energy Future (recyclability, end-of-life); ResearchGate, ScienceDirect (precursor carbon footprint); UL Solutions, White & Case, Sidley Austin (ESPR Regulation 2024/1781); EY, Anthesis (CSRD / ESRS E5 circular economy); GHG Protocol (Scope 3 categories). AirSponge impact figures and CaCl₂ humidity-regulation consumption estimate: internal triangulations from the above sources on conservative assumptions (to be validated by dedicated LCA).