Together for a Circular World

Team Sonnenwagen Aachen, a student initiative from RWTH Aachen University and FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, develops and builds solar race cars for international solar races. What unites them with Covestro is a shared ambition to push boundaries. Through close, personal exchange, the students contribute the vehicles’ specific requirements, while Covestro brings material and application expertise. Together, they develop, test and optimize tailored solutions—driven by curiosity and passion. As main sponsor and technology partner, Covestro contributes more than ten materials to the team’s current solar car.

Covestro and RWTH Aachen University jointly operate a center for research into catalytic processes (opens in a new tab). These are intended to help open up alternative raw materials and improve the recyclability of plastics.

Covestro is involved as a strategic partner in the Dutch company BioBTX (opens in a new tab). The start-up has developed a technology to extract valuable chemicals from biowaste and mixed plastic waste through chemical recycling, which are used, among other things, to manufacture new plastics. The process is being further developed in a demonstration plant that is unique worldwide.

Covestro is involved in the Chem-X project to increase supply chain transparency (opens in a new tab) for sustainable plastics. As part of the project, digital tools and solutions are being developed to better trace materials in the spirit of the circular economy – including through a digital material passport for the chemical industry. This is intended to enable more accurate determination and improvement of the carbon footprint along the value chain.

Covestro has developed a structured approach (opens in a new tab) with the management consultancy Deloitte to place circular economy solutions on the market faster and more successfully. The focus is primarily on clearly demonstrating to customers the economic benefits of sustainable materials and jointly building new value cycles.