The agreement marks a significant evolution in the two companies’ relationship – moving beyond traditional supply towards collaboration across the value chain, driven by a shared conviction that the future of mobility, energy and intelligent systems demands deep co-innovation. For Covestro, the partnership directly supports its “Sustainable Future” strategy by advancing innovations that enable circular solutions and drive growth in industries where material performance is becoming an increasingly important source of competitive advantage.

“At Covestro, we believe in the power of material science and collaboration to drive industry transformation – and this partnership with BYD is a strong example of that," said Lily Wang, President of Engineering Plastics at Covestro. "BYD's expanding portfolio represents some of the most exciting and demanding material challenges of our time, and that is exactly where Covestro’s depth of expertise becomes most valuable. We look forward to translating that expertise into tangible solutions together with BYD.”

“Covestro has proven itself as a trusted material innovation partner, and this agreement reflects our confidence in taking that relationship to a new level,” said Head of Materials, BYD. “As we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in future mobility and beyond, we look forward to co-innovating with Covestro to develop the advanced material solutions that will redefine future industries and accelerate our global ambitions.”

Material expertise complementing BYD's cutting-edge applications

Under the MoU, the two companies will deepen their collaboration across new energy vehicles, power batteries, public transportation, energy storage, and new technology applications. The partnership will include joint innovation initiatives, technology co-development and strategic investment opportunities.

Covestro will provide dedicated R&D resources to co-develop new material technologies, volume supply security, early access to new material innovations and customized technical support. BYD in turn commits to proactively engaging Covestro in new projects and technology roadmaps across its entire business portfolio.

Covestro’s world-class material expertise in polycarbonate and polyurethane solutions, backed by decades of experience in automotive and electronics application, complements BYD’s key application areas:

• New energy vehicles: Proven material solutions in lighting, premium interior and exterior, and intelligent electronic components, delivering both aesthetic and functional value for smart mobility.
• Power batteries & energy storage: Lightweight, high-performance materials that balance safety, thermal management, and cost efficiency across EV and residential applications.
• Next-generation technologies: High-performance polymer solutions engineered for extreme demands – combining lightweight construction, structural integrity, thermal and electrical management, and durability to enable complex technology platforms of the future. 

Building a more sustainable industrial future

Beyond product co-development, the two companies are committed to advancing low-carbon and circular material solutions that reduce the environmental footprint of next-generation mobility, energy and intelligent systems. Covestro’s CQ (Circular Intelligence) labeled materials, made with at least 25 percent alternative raw materials, form a key part of this commitment.

ISCC PLUS-certified chlorine from Covestro is produced by using electricity from renewable sources, supporting a more sustainable production process and contributing to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

As of January 2026, the entire CR production of ARLANXEO is based on ISCC PLUS-certified chlorine, marking an important milestone in the company’s sustainability journey and its commitment to a more sustainable value chain. 
This transition is resulting in an average reduction in global warming potential (GWP) of approximately 20% compared to 2025 levels¹, depending on the specific product grade.

“Integrating ISCC PLUS-certified materials into our production is a key step in reducing the environmental footprint of our CR rubber products,” said Niels van der Aar, Head of Sustainability at ARLANXEO. “It underlines our commitment to supporting customers with more sustainable material solutions while advancing transparency along the value chain by supplying corresponding product environmental footprint data for ARLANXEO’s entire CR product portfolio.” 
As a key chemical supplier to ARLANXEO, Covestro plays a crucial role in enabling this transition by supporting the availability of ISCC PLUS-certified chlorine.

“At Covestro, we support our customers in reducing emissions along the value chain by supplying more sustainable basic chemical raw materials from our multiple ISCC PLUS-certified production sites,” said Moritz Winterstein, Head of Trading Cluster Basic Chemicals EMEA at Covestro. “Our collaboration with ARLANXEO demonstrates how certified raw materials and renewable electricity can contribute to lowering the product environmental footprint of downstream applications and support customers in achieving their sustainability targets.”

The introduction of ISCC PLUS-certified feedstock, like ISCC PLUS Chlorine, strengthens the position of ARLANXEO as a leading supplier of more sustainable elastomer solutions, particularly for industries with ambitious climate targets, such as automotive, construction, industrial and adhesive applications.

In addition, ARLANXEO can also offer Baypren® Eco grades combining ISCC PLUS-certified chlorine and ISCC PLUS-certified butadiene, enabling further reductions¹ in environmental impact and supporting customers in achieving their sustainability targets without any compromise in performance.

_{¹ Relative changes in Global Warming Potential – GWP100 incl. biogenic [kg CO₂e] 
Example of the relative change of the Global Warming Potential (GWP100 incl. biogenic [kg CO₂e] for Baypren^® 116 M45 as from January 2026. In the graph also the Baypren^® Eco 116 M45 is added as Eco option. A full Product Environmental Footprint report is available upon request.}

The new compressor operates on the principle of a heat pump: Water vapor is generated during the production processes for TDI, a component of flexible foam. Covestro requires steam for many production processes, but the steam produced during TDI manufacturing is not hot enough. Therefore, some of it is released into the environment as waste heat. The compressor raises the steam to a higher temperature and pressure level, making it suitable for use in production processes.

“Energy efficiency is a key lever for transforming our production towards climate neutrality and a circular economy. The principle is: the less energy we need, the better,” says Thorsten Dreier, CTO of Covestro. “That’s why we’re using every opportunity to make our production even more energy-efficient with modern, innovative process technologies.” From 2005 to 2022, Covestro already reduced its energy consumption by around 40 percent. The next goal: By 2030, the company aims to consume 20 percent less energy per ton of product produced than in 2020.

This project is part of an energy efficiency strategy with which Covestro is driving its transformation to climate-neutral production. As part of the master plan, the company is continuously searching for further potential energy efficiency measures. “With these projects, we are not only reducing our CO₂ emissions, but also saving on energy costs,” says Andreas Doerfer, Global Energy Excellence Manager. “To achieve our energy efficiency target, we must utilize all available options for using the waste heat generated in our processes to manufacture our products.”

Following the installation of an energy-efficient reactor at the TDI plant last year, the new compressor for the Dormagen site is the next major project to future-proof the location: “This investment clearly demonstrates Covestro’s long-term belief in the Dormagen site and its commitment to investing here,” says Philip Bahke, Head of Operations in Dormagen and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of this year, with the compressor expected to go into operation in mid-2027.

For Schleswig-Holstein, the project represents an important step on the path to climate-neutral transformation of the state. This was emphasized by Tobias Goldschmidt, Minister for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature of the state, at the groundbreaking ceremony: “The energy transition is Schleswig-Holstein's project of our time. The rapid expansion of renewable energies is a booster for our business location Schleswig-Holstein and makes future-oriented projects like the heat battery possible in the first place. Covestro and Rondo impressively demonstrate how they are driving the energy transition forward with innovative strength, technological know-how, and full confidence. Projects like this contribute significantly to energy sovereignty and to achieving our climate neutrality goals.”

The 100 MWh Rondo Heat Battery (RHB) is scheduled to go into operation by the end of 2026. Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are supporting the project. The battery will produce ten percent of the required steam at the site, saving up to 13,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year.

"As an innovation company, we are always excited when we can further develop and test promising ideas that can bring us closer to our goals of a circular economy and climate-neutral production," says Dr. Thorsten Dreier, CTO of Covestro. "The heat battery is such an idea: a new technology that enables us to take another step forward on our path to a sustainable future."

The Rondo Heat Battery combines centuries-old materials with modern automation: electrical energy is stored in the form of heat – with the help of bricks that have been used as heat storage in steel mills for centuries. The heat drives an ordinary boiler that delivers emission-free steam. With electricity from renewable energy sources, a constant amount of steam can thus be continuously generated.

“This project shows how two of Europe’s central challenges can be solved together,” said Eric Trusiewicz, CEO of Rondo Energy. “As renewable power expands, it increasingly creates daily periods of abundant, low-cost electricity. At the same time, European industry needs reliable, affordable energy to remain competitive. Together with Covestro, we are demonstrating that clean industrial heat can be both highly reliable and a powerful tool for balancing the grid — while building the energy infrastructure needed to strengthen Europe’s industrial base and energy security.”

For Covestro, steam generation is an essential part of the production process and accounts for a large portion of energy consumption. The steam at the Brunsbüttel site is currently still generated with natural gas. Based on the experience with using the Rondo Heat Battery in Brunsbüttel, Covestro is evaluating whether deployment on a larger scale is possible.

Read more here ›

This project replaces diesel vehicles with five new electric trucks in a first phase for the transportation between Covestro's facility and Katoen Natie warehouse in Rayong. With this, Covestro Map Ta Phut site becomes the first among Covestro sites in the Asia-Pacific region to use electric bulk trucks. Starting from July 2025, the shuttle trips, covering more than 200,000 kilometers annually will be performed by electric vehicles (EVs).  The transition is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around 400 tons per year, equivalent to the environmental impact of planting 20,000 trees.

The initiative reflects Covestro’s and Katoen Natie’s long-term partnership and shared environmental goals. By integrating electric trucks into their daily operations, they are actively contributing to a cleaner, more sustainable future.

“The transition to clean energy is a cornerstone of our sustainability strategy,” stated Kenny Van der Beken, CEO at Katoen Natie Services (Thailand) Company Limited. “These EV trucks, combined with other initiatives such as solar panel expansion and electric forklifts, will help us achieve a 33% reduction in CO₂ emissions across our operations.”

To achieve scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions goal - net zero tons of CO₂ by 2050, Covestro is scrutinizing every part of its supply chain. Cutting indirect emissions from both upstream and downstream activities is essential for this goal, as these sources account for approximately 80 percent of the company's overall emissions footprint.

"This partnership between Covestro and Katoen Naties demonstrates our tangible commitment to reducing emissions across our entire supply chain. The project aligns with Thailand's sustainability goals and creates a scalable solution that could be implemented across other Covestro operations globally", added Chaiyut Changjenrob, Site Manager - Covestro Map Ta Phut site, Covestro (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

As part of the next steps on green logistics journey, Covestro is exploring the feasibility of implementing a standalone electric pellet conveying system at the Covestro Map Ta Phut site to replace the current diesel-powered system.  This initiative, developed in close collaboration with Katoen Natie, represents a strategic move to reducing emissions across our logistics operations. Through dedicated partnership with Katoen Natie, Covestro is advancing its sustainability agenda while maintaining economic efficiency.

Covestro uses natural gas as a feedstock as well as an energy source. The partnership will enable the supply of natural gas sourced from INEOS’ global LNG portfolio, providing a stable and predictable feedstock and energy stream for Covestro’s European operations. This strategic collaboration addresses the critical need for secure and diversified energy sources in Europe.

David Bucknall CEO, INEOS Energy said: “Our goal is to supply customers with vital energy throughout the energy transition, not just at the end. That means maintaining competitive hydrocarbon supplies as alternatives emerge and grow. This long-term LNG deal with Covestro does exactly that, providing reliable, cost-effective energy to help our industrial partners manage volatility and avoid shortages."

Thorsten Dreier, Chief Technology Officer of Covestro, added, "Securing a stable, competitive and predictable gas supply is essential for our operations right now. This agreement with INEOS provides us with the long-term security we need to maintain our production and contribute to the European economy. We value INEOS' commitment to supporting European industry and their proactive approach to addressing the region's energy challenges. This contract is an important building block for us as a company in the energy intensive industry to transition towards an affordable renewable energy supply."

This agreement reinforces the shared goal of both companies to maintain a strong and competitive industrial base in Europe. By ensuring a reliable gas supply, INEOS and Covestro are taking real, tangible steps to secure the future of their European manufacturing assets.

INEOS first entered the LNG sector in June 2022, signing a 20-year agreement with US-based Sempra Infrastructure to supply 1.4 million tonnes of LNG annually from the US Gulf Coast.

"The successful completion of this project shows that climate protection and competitiveness can go hand in hand," says Dr. Philip Bahke, Head of the North Rhine-Westphalia Site Network. "The modernized plant sets new standards in energy efficiency and underlines our path toward climate-neutral production. In light of persistently high energy costs, the project significantly strengthens the competitiveness of TDI production in Europe. My special thanks go to the entire project team, who professionally implemented this complex modernization during ongoing operations."

More Efficient Processes for More Sustainable Products

The modernized plant consumes 80 percent less energy than conventional processes, achieving a CO₂ reduction of 22,000 tons per year. This is made possible by a new reactor weighing over 150 tons (330,700 lbs) and almost 20 meters (65.6 feet) high, which uses the generated reaction energy for steam production. Covestro started the modernization in summer 2023. In total, the project installed over 3.5 kilometers of new pipelines, around 14 kilometers of cables, and hundreds of new equipment, valves, and monitoring instruments in the plant.

"In Dormagen, we operate Europe's largest TDI production plant. With the successful modernization, we can now offer our customers TDI with an even better carbon footprint," explains Dr. Christine Mendoza-Frohn, Head of Sales Performance Materials for the EMEA and LATAM regions. "This supports our customers in achieving their own sustainability goals and strengthens our position as a reliable partner for climate-neutral and circular solutions."

New Global Energy Efficiency Targets Presented

During the event, Covestro also presented its new, ambitious energy efficiency target for global production. The company targets a 20 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions from energy use per ton of product by 2030 compared to 2020, underlining the central importance of energy efficiency as a lever for achieving operational climate neutrality by 2035. The Dormagen TDI plant, with its annual capacity of 300,000 tons, serves as a prime example of the successful transformation of existing production facilities toward greater energy efficiency.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) has supported this modernization through its federal funding program for energy and resource efficiency.

Further press release:

• Covestro publishes energy efficiency target ›

The Covestro U.S. sites Channelview, Texas, South Deerfield, Massachusetts, New Martinsville, West Virginia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have achieved net-zero Scope 2 emissions for electricity. The sites in South Deerfield, New Martinsville, and Pittsburgh have now even achieved complete net-zero Scope 2 emissions. The remaining certificates have been applied to Covestro's Baytown, Texas facility.

"Even in a persistently challenging market environment, we are working towards our goal of climate-neutral production by 2035 and are consistently implementing our strategy of fully aligning ourselves with the circular economy," said Thorsten Dreier, CTO of Covestro. "By leveraging renewable energy, we're not just reducing our carbon footprint – we're actively shaping a brighter future for our industry."

The agreement with Ørsted, which provides Covestro with 90 MW of renewable energy capacity, will reduce approximately 90,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually. This represents a significant step towards Covestro's goal of climate neutral production by 2035.

"Our partnership with Ørsted is a prime example of how collaboration and innovation can drive meaningful change in our industry," says Samir Hifri, chairman and president of Covestro LLC. "We're proud to be at the forefront of sustainable practices in the chemical sector and look forward to continuing to execute our strategy to grow sustainably in the U.S."

This announcement follows Covestro's recent low triple digit million Euro investments across multiple U.S. sites, further solidifying the company's commitment to growth and sustainability in the North American market.

Construction is set to begin in late 2024, with the facility expected to become operational in 2025. The center will be outfitted with advanced equipment to address complex market demands and leverage local resources and networks to streamline talent and administrative management.

“Establishing this new application development center in Guangzhou is a strategically important move for us to jointly with our customers leverage on the vibrant Asia-Pacific and especially the Chinese market. The center will also contribute to developing more sustainable TPU solutions, underscoring our dedication to innovation that benefits our esteemed customers and partners,” said Dr. Andrea Maier-Richter, EVP and Global Head of TPU at Covestro. “Together with the ongoing investment in our largest global TPU production site in Zhuhai, we will soon run two powerful engines in two major cities. This highlights our company’s ongoing commitment to growth and its commitment to the innovative capabilities of TPU in particular.”

With the existing regional R&D center in Changhua, the ongoing construction of the largest global TPU production site in Zhuhai and the upcoming APAC application development center in Guangzhou, the collaborative and complementary strengths from the three sites are expected to drive even more powerful regional synergies.

“The new application development center in Guangzhou will play an instrumental role in engaging with major TPU industry clusters across China and APAC, particularly in consumer electronics and specialty extrusion applications,” said Kevin Ho, Head of Sales & Market Development for TPU in APAC at Covestro. “We are not only close to these industry clusters, we are also at the forefront of listening to our customers, partners and the industry value chain. By bolstering our AD capacities, we ever better can sense and meet the nuances and changes and navigate our solutions and services with velocity, agility and customer centricity.“

Covestro is committed to offering sustainable and circular solutions that align with its long-term goals. The Desmopan^® CQ TPU portfolio is a great example, utilizing alternative raw materials such as feedstocks from waste or biomass, attributed via mass balancing. The company as a whole furthermore aims to become fully circular and aims at becoming operationally climate neutrality by 2035, striving to utilize only renewable energy for its operations by then. This lowers the carbon footprint of products like TPU even further. This dedication of the company is also reflected in the investments in its new TPU properties, where such developments shall be driven further.

The Breakthrough Energy Catalyst foundation set up by Bill Gates and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are supporting this installation of the Rondo RHB100 heat battery, which is scheduled to begin operation at Covestro’s Brunsbüttel site at the end of 2026. The project will then produce ten percent of the steam required at the site, saving up to 13,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year.

Rondo Heat Batteries combine century-old materials and cutting-edge automation to capture electricity and deliver high-temperature heat and power. Electrical energy is stored as heat, using bricks that have been used for heat storage at steel mills for centuries. The heat powers an ordinary boiler to deliver zero-emission steam. Renewable electricity can be intermittently stored when there is an excess available and a constant amount of steam can still be generated continuously.

"As an innovation company, we are always excited when we can further develop and test promising ideas that can bring us closer to our goals of a circular economy and climate-neutral production," says Dr. Thorsten Dreier, CTO of Covestro. “The heat battery is such an idea: a new technology that allows us to go one step further on our way to a sustainable future.”

“Rondo Heat Batteries deliver deep decarbonization by changing the fuel, not the factory,” said Eric Trusiewicz, CEO of Rondo Energy. “We’re honored to be working with Covestro to prove our safety, reliability, and efficiency under real conditions on a large scale over a long period of time. And we’re excited to be deploying in Brunsbüttel, where large flexible electricity loads are particularly valuable to the electricity grid.”

For Covestro, steam generation is an important part of the production process and accounts for a large proportion of energy consumption. The learnings from this first heat battery installation will provide experience and insights for Covestro to be able to assess whether larger-scale deployments are possible.

For the 2024 brief, undergraduate students from all around the UK and Ireland were invited to design independently powered products made primarily of plastics, capable of being used off-grid and targeted at either the domestic or sports and leisure markets.

Chairman of the DIP judging panel, Richard Brown, praised the sheer range and creativity of ideas as well as the quality of the products, which he said made the task of selecting six finalists from a vast number of entries particularly challenging.

"The final six have interpreted the brief in innovative ways, made good use of materials and demonstrated that they have researched their subject thoroughly in order to create their solution. We are very much looking forward to seeing them at the final judging session in London on May 24."

As part of their prize, all finalists have been invited to attend a two-day plastics processing training course at the UK headquarters of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, a world-leading manufacturer of injection moulding machines. The DIP judges have also provided each finalist with feedback and areas for improvement, so they can refine their products before May 24.

During the final judging, the products will be carefully evaluated and the results will be announced at the prize-giving ceremony on July 5, in London.

Design Innovation in Plastics is the longest running plastics competition of its kind in Europe, having been established in 1985. It is headline sponsored by Covestro, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, The Worshipful Company of Horners and also supported by leading design and plastics organisations.

This year’s finalists:

Gargi Agrawalla, Loughborough University: Ear Boost, a product for simutaneously dehumidifying and charging cochlear implants.

Brandon Hopkins, London South Bank University: Saltbuoy, a salt-water powered data buoy.

Jake Lee, Glasgow School of Art: SkinTemp, a core temperature sensor to keep people safe in cold water.

Jem Mitchell, Glasgow School of Art: Sentree, a sonic deterrent for trees to protect them from overgrazing.

Isabel Payne, Glasgow School of Art: SafiCase, a self-powered case for sterilising a menstrual cup with minimal water.

Joe Shade, De Montfort University: Beehive, a smart beehive for monitoring and providing information about the wellbeing of the bees.

About the Design Innovation in Plastics Award:
Established in 1985, Design Innovation in Plastics is the longest running student plastics design award in Europe. For more information visit: www.designinnovationplastics.org

The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) is a major UK engineering institution and is the professional body for the advancement of materials, minerals and mining to governments, industry, academia, the public and the professions. For more information visit www.iom3.org

The Worshipful Company of Horners is one of the oldest livery companies in the City of London, formed to regulate the horn-working trade. In 1943 it adopted its modern equivalent, the plastics industry.
For more information visit www.horners.org.uk

The first applications for the new grades could be in the electrical and electronics industry, as well as in healthcare. Both sectors are particularly well represented in Asia. For their use in housing parts, plastics of the new Apec^® XT line must above all offer freedom of design, dimensional stability, impact as well as chemical resistance and, in some cases, good flame retardancy.

There are also promising prospects for the copolymers in telecommunications and photovoltaics, for example in antenna housings, where weather-resistant, electrically insulating, ductile and flame-retardant materials are needed.

Further product innovations based on the new copolymer technology platform could focus on the automotive industry and infrastructure, where plastics from the new series have good prospects for use in housings for residential energy storage systems, charging stations and wall boxes, for example, thanks to their good electrical insulation properties, weather resistance and flame retardancy.

Apec^® XT grades will be designed to remain resilient even in the harshest conditions. The new copolymer technology enables the production of products that exhibit high impact strength even at temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius. In addition, these copolymers have improved chemical and ageing resistance, making them ideal for applications that require contact with aggressive cleaning agents and long durability in outdoor applications.

More sustainable products also available

APEC^® XT will also be part of the Covestro CQ portfolio of more sustainable product solutions. In that regard, Covestro will offer copolymer-based products in a version with up to 80 percent of ISCC PLUS-certified mass-balanced raw materials attributed from biowaste and bio-residues.

In addition, the company will offer products that incorporate recycled materials in order to also further reduce its environmental footprint. Moreover, due to its superior weatherability performance, the extended service life of APEC^® XT based products will improve product carbon footprint over its entire life cycle.

The wire and cable industry plays a central role in the global networking of society, especially in the transmission of energy and data. Reliability and efficiency are of paramount importance for these products. That is why Covestro supports its customers with durable, high-performance and more sustainable material solutions.

The materials presented include:

• Coatings, inks and matrix: Covestro's innovative coatings, inks and matrix materials are designed to provide exceptional protection and performance in various applications in the energy and telecommunications industries. With more than 40 years of industry experience in fiber and cable materials, Covestro offers improved design capability, field deployability, reliable performance, ultra-fast curing and excellent protection against attenuation and micro-bending.
• Polycarbonates: Covestro's polycarbonate materials are characterized by excellent strength, transparency and versatility, making them well-suited for a wide range of energy and telecommunications applications. From optical fibers to electrical housings, Covestro's polycarbonates ensure dimensional stability and impact resistance over a wide temperature range.
• Thermoplastic polyurethanes: Covestro's thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) solutions combine flexibility, toughness and chemical resistance, making them ideal for the protection of flame-retardant cables in various energy and telecommunications applications.
• Elastomers: Covestro's elastomer materials are tailored for exceptional durability and strong resistance against wave and tidal action for energy subsea applications. They offer thermal stability, impact resistance and reliable protection against flex fatigue and hydrolysis. They are durable and reduce maintenance in the offshore wind industry.

Visit Covestro at booth H51 in hall 10 of wire fair to learn more about its innovative materials for the energy and telecom value chain. Further information: https://solutions.covestro.com/en/digital-event-space/wire

"The new contract shows: We are making consistent progress on our path to climate-neutral production - even in economically challenging times," says Dr. Thorsten Dreier, Chief Technology Officer at Covestro. "Because we are convinced that our vision of a complete focus on the circular economy and climate neutrality is the only way to ensure the long-term success of our company."

Ulf Kerstin, CCO of RWE Supply Trading, says: "We are delighted to support Covestro in achieving its ambitious sustainability goals and to be able to accelerate the transition to climate-neutral production. The great interest of our customers in green power underlines the importance of CO₂-free power for the manufacturing industry."

The new PPA with RWE replaces a current agreement, which expires at the end of 2025. At the Antwerp site, Covestro produces the high-performance plastic polycarbonate, which is used in car headlights, electrical and electronic components, LED lights, medical technology and many other applications. Polyether and the important industrial chemical aniline are also produced there, and Covestro is currently expanding production there with the construction of a new world-scale plant.

"This supply agreement is a further step towards increasing the proportion of renewable power in our production," says Dr. Georg Wagner, Managing Director of Covestro in Antwerp. "With this and the use of sustainable raw materials and innovative recycling technologies, our production site is on the way to a climate-neutral and fully circular future. We are delighted to have found a partner in RWE with whom we can reach the next level."

Covestro aims to achieve climate-neutral production by 2035 and has already concluded several electricity supply contracts worldwide. Since 2023, the site in Shanghai has been supplied with 45% of its electricity from solar and wind power, and in the USA, Covestro has concluded a virtual power purchase agreement with the company Ørsted for 200 gigawatt hours of solar power, which corresponds to twelve percent of the electricity requirements at the Baytown site.

By 2025, ten percent of the electricity at the company's sites in Germany is also to come from renewable energy sources. In this way, Covestro aims to achieve the interim target of reducing greenhouse gases from production by 60% by 2030. At the end of 2023, Covestro covered about 16% of its global electricity needs from renewable sources.

Covestro is already making an important contribution to more sustainable vehicles and infrastructure with innovative material solutions. In this context, the company is also working in close partnership with Team Sonnenwagen, a team of around 50 students from RWTH Aachen University and Aachen University of Applied Sciences. It is dedicated to developing racing cars that are powered solely by the sun. Covestro shares the students' enthusiasm because the racing cars, with their high efficiency and use of new technologies and materials, are a powerful symbol of the mobility of the future. That is why Covestro is supporting the team as the main sponsor with material solutions and technical exchange for another two years.

"In order to create a climate-neutral and circular mobility of the future, business, politics and society must pull together. At Covestro, we are contributing to this transformation by offering the automotive industry raw materials based on biomass or recyclates and manufacturing our products as energy-efficiently and with as few emissions as possible," said Dr. Thorsten Dreier, Chief Technology Officer, during the discussion. "At Covestro, we want our production to be climate-neutral by 2035 and are relying on energy from renewable sources and innovative process technologies to achieve this."

Covestro's material developments focus on solutions for the major trends of electromobility, autonomous driving and the need for individualization. These include material solutions for compact, powerful and safe batteries for electric cars and robust charging systems, plastics for connected mobility and the Internet of Things, as well as various products for aesthetic and functional automotive interiors and exteriors.

Covestro has been supporting Team Sonnenwagen in the development of ever more efficient solar racing cars since 2017. The students are working together in a wide range of disciplines to improve the aerodynamics, optimize the chassis and install a particularly efficient photovoltaic system and battery. Participants at the NRW Mobility Day were able to take a look at the Covestro Photon, the predecessor model to the current Adelie racing car, and talk to team members. With the Photon, Team Sonnenwagen became European champion at the European solar race in Zolder, Belgium, in September 2022.

"For me, Team Sonnenwagen had already won even before the race! Team Sonnenwagen had captured the hearts and minds and the collective enthusiasm of all Covestro employees around the globe," says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. "The team grabbed its rightful first place in qualifying and set its sights on victory from the start from pole position. The Covestro team was integral in its support. Yes, support to the students via innovative material developments but also fully involved throughout the race. And the Aachen-based team did its part: With their efficient car design and sophisticated driving performance, they led from the very front in performance, in design and in resilience, guts and stamina. I'm very proud of the team!"

"Of course, risk always rides along, especially if you want to achieve a top position," says Simon Zaers from Team Sonnenwagen. “Nevertheless, our intensive development work of around two years really paid off, especially because we also attached importance to a safe design. It played its part in ensuring that no one was injured in the accident. We were also able to gain a lot of valuable experience for the construction of our next solar runabout, with which we would like to participate in the World Solar Challenge 2025. Together with the other teams, we continue to pursue our goal of enabling more sustainable mobility with innovative designs – powered only by the power of the sun.”

Covestro shares the enthusiasm of the Aachen team and has been supporting it as a main sponsor for around five years. The company is convinced that high-performance plastics are the key to climate-neutral and circular mobility in the future, and is working with customers and partners to develop material innovations and new recycling technologies to achieve this.

Covestro also believes that the 50-strong Sonnenwagen team is on the right track in terms of cooperation: from development and design to the race itself, nine departments worked closely together to optimize aerodynamics and electrical engineering, the chassis, the powertrain and, not least, the driving strategy. The result after more than 200,000 hours of calculations for the outer shape and around 10,000 workshop hours for the body is impressive – and weighs a lot: the structure of the Adelie weighs in at 16 percent less than its predecessor, and the chassis even weighs a fifth less. These improvements are also due to materials from Covestro.

"After the race is before the race," sums up Lina Schwering, 1st Chairwoman of Team Sonnenwagen. "We will also learn from this competition and continue to optimize our design with a partially new team, just as the other teams are doing. There are very many parameters on whose interaction the race will be decided, and consistency and the will to consistently learn from experience will ultimately lead to the goal. However, this race has also shown us that in the end it also depends on a certain quantum of luck."

"I am amazed by the increased efficiency and energy savings you achieve with each new car model," said Chief Technology Officer Dr. Thorsten Dreier in welcoming the guests. “The Covestro Adelie shows on a small scale what high-performance plastics can do for a sustainable future on a large scale. We are convinced that they are the key to sustainable mobility. That's why we are consistently driving forward material innovations and recycling solutions together with our partners in industry and science.”

Optimization through teamwork

Even during the two-year development period of the Covestro Adelie, the teamwork of around 50 students led to success: aerodynamics, electrical engineering, driving strategy, chassis, powertrain and structure interlock perfectly. More than 200,000 hours of calculations were required to optimize the exterior shape, plus 10,000 workshop hours for the body, and many more days for electrical and mechanical components and the development of the driving strategy.

"A lot of work, heart and soul and the concentrated experience from our three predecessor models have gone into the Covestro Adelie," confesses Clemens Odendahl, head of marketing at Team Sonnenwagen. "Now we hope to win the Challenger class, in which we are the only German team competing. There, it's all about performance and maximum energy efficiency."

Thanks to the optimizations, the structure of the new model weighs 16 percent less than that of its predecessor, the Photon, and the chassis even has 20 percent less weight. This improvement is also due to some Covestro materials, such as a battery cover made of the high-performance plastic polycarbonate and the construction of the seat shell with thermoplastic polyurethane. The Photon is also currently on campus and will remain there for some time.

More sustainable outfit

But the Aachen-based tinkerers are not only committed to more sustainability on the road – their official outfit was also produced using alternative raw materials with fewer petrochemical components. Both the shoes and the shorts were provided by Covestro's Chinese partner Huafeng. The two companies jointly developed a design for them using Huafeng's HAPTIC^® textile coating system, which is made with Covestro's partially bio-based Impranil^® CQ DLS/1 polyurethane dispersion.

Covestro wishes Team Sonnenwagen every success and victory in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. This time, 42 teams from 23 countries are taking part in what is probably the toughest solar car race in the world. Under harsh climatic conditions, they have to master the more than 3,000-kilometer route from Darwin to Adelaide as quickly as possible, right across the Australian outback.

“We provide materials that help to facilitate a more climate-neutral and circular world. The products to be manufactured at our new plant in Shanghai are an excellent illustration of this, as they will assist our customers in meeting the increasing demand for renewable energy solutions,” says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer at Covestro. “In doing so, we are supporting the growth of an industry that is vital for preserving our climate. Furthermore, we are promoting sustainability in various industries by supplying materials containing renewable attributes.”

The polyurethane elastomers systems produced in the site can be used for a variety of end products. For offshore windpower, the protection of subsea cables is a core application area. The material is also used in the manufacturing process of photovoltaic panels or in screening medias in the mining industry. In all of the above, it is designed for purpose in close collaboration with customers to withstand even the harshest of conditions thanks to its excellent wear, tear and abrasion resistance.

“We want to support the growth of our customers and partake in the growth of key industries. As we expect the Elastomers market to grow above China’s gross domestic product, we want to enable our customers to capture it. That is what we do with our overall investments into our Elastomer business, and with this investment in our new plant in Shanghai right now,” said Dr. Thomas Braig, Head of the Business Entity Elastomers.

The new plant is the latest addition to the Covestro Integrated Site Shanghai (CISS), Covestro’s single largest production site worldwide. CISS is now home to twelve plants. Since 2001, the company has invested about 3.7 billion Euro into the site as of the end of 2022.

Holly Lei, President of Covestro in China, said, “Our company’s vision of becoming fully circular and our target of being operationally climate neutral by 2035 are perfectly aligned with China’s ambitions to be carbon neutral before 2060. The products we produce in CISS and this addition of polyurethane elastomers systems position us to make meaningful contributions to sustainability efforts in China and in the entire region, for example in the area of renewable energy generation.”

CISS is also among Covestro’s ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) certified sites. This means it is capable of supplying customers with drop-in, mass-balanced materials derived from renewable attributed products, thereby helping customers to reduce their carbon footprint. To make more sustainable products easier to distinguish, Covestro introduced the suffix “CQ”. CQ stands for “Circular Intelligence” and identifies products containing a minimum of 25 percent alternative raw materials.

"For me, the Sonnenwagen is a powerful symbol of future mobility, because it shows us that we need to ask crucial questions about materials science and design on the way there," said Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer at Covestro, in her welcoming speech. "For me, the Sonnenwagen team are exemplary for creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. The students proved an impressive motivation and know-how to develop and optimize new ideas for solar-powered, light-weight electric vehicles."

Multidisciplinary team

As many as nine disciplines of the Aachen-based team were involved in the design: the chassis, aerodynamics, structure, electrical engineering, driving strategy, production, sponsorship, marketing and logistics departments. "Close and efficient cooperation between these areas is very important, because we want to compete in the Challenger class at the race, where the main focus is on performance and maximum energy efficiency," explains Lina Schwering, 1st Chairwoman of Team Sonnenwagen. "A lot of working time has gone into the Adelie, which we have invested alongside our studies and during our free time, and a lot of commitment and heart and soul."

In total, more than 50 teams from 24 countries are setting out on the more than 3,000-kilometer route from Darwin to Adelaide – right across the Australian outback. There, people and models are exposed to very harsh climatic conditions with high temperatures and strong UV exposure from the sun during the race, but also during the preceding test drives. In addition, the vehicle is subjected to strong mechanical stresses that can affect the efficiency and performance of the battery.

Innovative materials

"The Sonnenwagen team therefore needed a lot of support in selecting the materials," says Andreas Brandt, Head of Group Marketing and project sponsor at Covestro. "The new Sonnenwagen incorporates innovative products with different functionalities from various business segments, which are tested under track conditions."

For example, the aerodynamic outer shell was made from milled SikaBlock® polyurethane foam blocks from Sika, a long-standing partner of Covestro and another sponsor of Team Sonnenwagen. The Leverkusen-based company provided raw materials for this and advised the team on the implementation. The Sikaflex® sealants for the solar cells are also based on components from Covestro. Other examples include a plastic sheet made of polycarbonate for the battery enclosure and thermoplastic cushioning materials for the driver's seat trim.

"Pushing boundaries is what we at Covestro have in common with the young talents of Team Sonnenwagen," says Sucheta Govil, summarizing her message. "We push the boundaries of innovation in materials, driven by our commitment to sustainable mobility of the future. With our products and solutions, we materialize the circular economy."

With various agreements in place, Covestro fosters the growth of renewable energy projects around the world. This newest 15-year agreement secures a portion of power from the Mockingbird Solar Center in Lamar County, Texas, marking Covestro’s first renewable energy agreement in the U.S. The vPPA is estimated to offset 70,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually and will reduce the scope 2 emissions from Covestro’s third largest production site, located in Baytown, Texas.

“This important new announcement builds upon Covestro’s existing agreement with Ørsted and clearly signals our commitment to the use of renewable energy,” said Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro. “The inclusion of renewable energy to help power our facilities is a critical component to reducing our scope 2 emissions and becoming operationally climate neutral by 2035.”

Covestro set itself ambitious climate neutrality goals in 2022. One major lever to reach these goals is energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar power.

“The vPPA with Ørsted comes on the heels of our recent announcement of ISCC PLUS certification for our production site in Baytown, Texas,” explains Haakan Jonsson, chairman and president of Covestro LLC. “These two initiatives represent our focus on sustainability and the strategic path we have set to minimize our carbon footprint across Covestro’s operations in the United States. Cumulatively, projects like this help us realize our path to becoming fully circular.”

One concrete measure on this path is climate neutrality, which includes the switch to power from renewable sources. Covestro relies on agreements with power suppliers to facilitate this transition.

“We are thrilled to help facilitate Covestro’s entry into the U.S. renewable energy market with this newly signed virtual power purchase agreement,” said Monica Testa, Head of Origination at Ørsted. “The Mockingbird Solar Center is a unique project that represents both preservation and progress. The clean energy produced by the solar center will help Covestro to decarbonize its operations, while the conservation of rare native tallgrass prairie habitat supports plant and wildlife biodiversity in the region. We’re proud of the important outcomes this project achieves and look forward to our continued partnership with Covestro.”

Edison Energy worked with Covestro to broker the agreement for the vPPA. Ørsted’s Mockingbird Solar Center will produce enough clean energy to power roughly 80,000 homes and is expected to begin operation in late 2024. At that time, Covestro will start executing on the vPPA, which represents nearly 20% of the Mockingbird Solar Center’s capacity.

In December 2019, Covestro concluded a supply agreement for electricity from offshore wind turbines with energy supplier Ørsted. Starting in 2025, Ørsted will provide green electricity for ten years to supply Covestro’s production sites in Germany, generated in a newly built wind farm off the island of Borkum, Germany. At the end of 2022, Covestro had already covered 12 percent of its global energy requirements with electricity from renewable sources. That figure is expected to rise to 16 to 18 percent in 2023.

The R&D teams of Solar Coating Solutions booked their first successes back in 2005 with the development of a new and innovative anti-reflective coating, which could be used in different applications. Around 2010, however, the solar industry worldwide started to emerge and turned into a business opportunity with a huge market demand and growth potential. This was the trigger for the decision to build a dedicated production plant for solar glass coatings in the Netherlands, more specifically on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen.

With the solar photovoltaic industry growing globally, the Solar Coatings Business also spread its wings and installed teams in China and in the US. Thanks to smart decision taking, to the expertise of its business development teams in the regions and to the excellent performance and quality of its solar glass coatings, the Netherlands’ plant today remains the largest independent producer outside China. Additionally, during the past ten years the solar glass coatings product portfolio developed from a ‘one fits all solution’ to a highly diversified offering.

Robert von Beulwitz, Managing Director of the Solar Coating Solution, explains: ʺToday we offer amongst others combined anti-reflective and anti-soiling coatings for modules used in desert environments, high power coatings for large utility scale solar parks and special aesthetic coatings for pitch black appearance of solar panels mounted on residential rooftops – mainly in the Netherlands. Our latest innovation being the development and commercialization of a retrofit coating application for older solar parcs. With the expansion of the industry and of our portfolio, we also saw our employee base rising and I would like to thank each and every one of these colleagues for the relentless efforts they deliver every day!ʺ

"All these different solar coating products were developed in the Netherlands by listening to end market requirements around the world. And all of them are produced by employees in our production facility on the Brightlands Campus in Geleen. I am very proud about this story with which – from the Netherlands – we empower solar energy and harvest more energy from the sunʺ, adds Aukje Doornbos, Managing Director of Covestro in the Netherlands.

"The joint project with Covestro is an important building block in making our entire value chain climate-neutral. By sourcing raw materials for these products with a significantly reduced carbon footprint, we will be able to reduce our reported indirect emissions by up to 120,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalents per year," says Dr. Hubert Fink, member of the LANXESS Board of Management. With its Net Zero Value Chain Initiative, the specialty chemicals group plans to eliminate Scope 3 emissions within its upstream and downstream supply chain by 2050. This includes indirect emissions, particularly from purchased raw materials, but also in logistics or disposal. For Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the company aims to be climate neutral as early as 2040. "With this program, we are taking the next step towards a climate-neutral product portfolio and also supporting our customers, who are increasingly looking for sustainable solutions," says Fink. 

Chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen are basic building blocks for many products in the chemical industry. However, their production is very energy-intensive. LANXESS uses the raw materials supplied by Covestro, for example, for products that are then used in the food and agricultural industries. Covestro produces the three basic raw materials at its North Rhine-Westphalian sites in Leverkusen, Krefeld-Uerdingen and Dormagen. Both the former have already been certified to the internationally recognized ISCC PLUS standard for the production of the strategic raw material chlorine, while this is also planned for Dormagen in the near future. The correct allocation of the electricity to the products is ensured via this certification and the use of the renewable energy is proven by the invalidation of certificates of origin at the Federal Environment Agency. 

Covestro is also actively involved in various projects to build a hydrogen economy that uses mainly or exclusively green hydrogen as an energy carrier. Among other things, the company is supporting, in cooperation with Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies, to build the world's largest plant for storing renewable hydrogen in liquid organic carriers in Dormagen, Germany. 

With regard to its energy supply, Covestro focuses on power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable energy or high-level certificates. Only recently, the company signed PPAs with Chinese supplier CGN New Energy on wind and solar power that will cover around 30 percent of the electricity needs of its important production site in Shanghai. Under another, utility Ørsted will supply offshore wind energy starting in 2025, which is expected to meet 10 percent of the electricity needs of Covestro's sites in Germany. ENGIE, Belgium's largest renewable energy producer, will provide onshore wind energy to meet 45 percent of the electricity demand of Covestro's Antwerp production site in Belgium. 

"Covestro aims to become climate-neutral by 2035 and is systematically converting its production worldwide to renewable energies to achieve this goal," says CEO Dr. Markus Steilemann. “On the way to achieving this, we have reached a new milestone with this agreement. At the same time, we are contributing to the further expansion of the entire market for renewable energies with our investments and our commitment.”

Under the PPA, the Covestro Integrated Site Shanghai will purchase approximately 300 gigawatt hours of green power annually from CGN's wind and solar farms in the town of Lenghu in northwest China's Qinghai province. The agreement will reduce Covestro's carbon emissions in China by around 126,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year. This is equivalent to the emissions of around 60,000 gasoline-powered cars annually. The PPA is scheduled to take effect in January 2023.

"We are delighted to support leading chemical companies like Covestro in converting their production sites to renewable electricity. We look forward to our further cooperation with Covestro, and together we will also contribute to China's dual carbon targets and sustainable development," says Qi Fang, Deputy General Manager of CGN New Energy.

The Shanghai site is already partly supplied by renewable energy. For example, in 2022 alone, it is expected to use more than 300 gigawatt hours of solar power generated in northwest China.

"This new contract is a milestone in the Shanghai site's journey to net-zero emissions. We have increased energy efficiency and significantly reduced emissions over the years, and the use of green power and alternative raw materials will be a key focus as we strive for carbon-neutral production in the next decade," says Holly Lei, President of Covestro China.

Meanwhile, Covestro's Guangzhou and Foshan sites in south China will be powered with 100 percent renewable electricity. Starting next year, both sites will be using power generated from CGN’s offshore wind farms in Guangdong province.

The latest PPAs in China follow purchase agreements Covestro had already signed with energy suppliers in Europe. Under one agreement, utility Ørsted will supply offshore wind energy starting in 2025, which is expected to meet 10 percent of the electricity needs of Covestro's sites in Germany. Under another, ENGIE, Belgium's largest renewable energy producer, will provide onshore wind energy to meet 45 percent of the electricity demand of Covestro's Antwerp production site in Belgium.

PU in wind-blade production is a transformative innovation delivered by Covestro teams around the globe. With better mechanical properties, an efficient production process, and a more cost-effective production solution than conventional fiberglass-reinforced epoxy blades, PU blades are opening a new chapter in the wind blade industry.

Commercial success

Covestro and TMT signed a memorandum of cooperation about a year ago, based on which significant commercialization results have been achieved. PU wind turbines are now being used in commercial wind farms throughout China.

Dr. Binbin Hou, General Manager of Wind Business at TMT, said, "PU wind blades cater to the growing demand for longer wind blade designs. We hope to further collaborate with Covestro to improve the competitiveness of wind energy through continuous technology innovation."

"We are very pleased to reach the important milestone of the launch of the 1000th blade with TMT," said Christine Bryant, Global Head of the Tailored Urethanes Business Entity at Covestro. "We believe that industrial collaboration is fundamental to addressing global warming and energy shortage issues, and it is also an important part of Covestro’s commitment to a circular economy."

TMT produces PU wind blades ranging from 59.5 meters to 94 meters in length with different blade designs and layup structures to meet the growing demand for longer and larger wind blades. The 94-meter wind turbine blade, capable of generating 8 MW of energy, is the largest PU application for Covestro so far. Multiple TMT factories manufacture these blades under different temperatures, humidity, and altitude, proving the wide applicability of PU resin in the manufacturing process.

Dr. Xuebin Feng, R&D Director of Wind Business at TMT, said, "We overcame many technical challenges to accelerate the production process of large polyurethane resin wind blades and achieve mass production."

Further collaboration

In addition to wind turbine development, Covestro and TMT have jointly developed PU railway sleepers, which are more durable and cost-effective in maintenance than traditional wood and concrete sleepers. Covestro, an integrated PU solution provider, will cooperate with TMT to provide various PU resins, coatings, and PU machinery solutions.

Coleitec is committed to providing high-performance and lightweight composites solutions, while Covestro is the inventor of polyurethane. The two companies launched the High-Pressure Resin Transfer Molding (HP-RTM) PU battery pack top cover solution and successfully realized mass production at a major power battery manufacturer. This cooperative research and development has pioneered the application of PU composites in the new energy vehicle battery pack field.

Lightweight solutions that improve production efficiency and ensure cost competitiveness

This year, this polyurethane battery pack top cover solution has passed the compliance testing of the EU’s REACH and RoHS regulations, and China’s GB38031-2020 testing. It scores highly on mechanical properties, high temperature and humidity aging, xenon lamp aging, acid and alkali resistance, high-temperature resistance and insulation properties. The new PU HP-RTM process is a lightweight solution which meets the requirement of “replacing steel with plastic”. Thanks to its strong physical properties and low-density advantages, the thinnest part of the cover achieves 0.8mm, significantly reducing the overall weight. It is 60 percent lighter than strength steel, 20 percent lighter than aluminum alloy, and 50 percent lighter than SMC composites.

Compared with other processes, the HP-RTM process realizes the automation layup to greatly improve production efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs. An assessment of its life cycle shows that the HP-RTM process reduces carbon emissions compared with the traditional metal process. 

Dr. Irene Li, the head of R&D at Tailored Urethanes Business Entity in Asia Pacific of Covestro, said, “This is a new PU application in the field of new energy vehicles. It took us only 18 months from development to mass production, which is a gratifying achievement of Covestro and Coleitec. We believe that the strategic cooperation with Coleitec will enable more innovative PU applications to be implemented in the downstream value chain.”

Jointly expanding the application of PU composites in the new energy industry

Covestro and Coleitec will further cooperate under this strategic agreement, utilizing global research and development resources in the automotive industry and developing the new energy industry. The development mainly focuses on two aspects. One is to increase the performance of PU solutions and exploit the advantages of PU resin so they are suitable for more applications. The second aspect is to develop the applications of bio-based raw materials to reduce carbon emissions and promote the circular economy.

Markus Mingenbach, Vice President of PU Specialties at Tailored Urethanes Business Entity of Covestro, said, “The signing of the strategic agreement signals the beginning of a much deeper partnership between both companies. We look forward to further developing cost-efficient and tailor-made PU solutions in the domain of new energy vehicles, solar energy, and energy storage. Only through deep collaboration with foresight clients can we achieve our vision of a circular economy.”

Dr. Peng He, Chairman of Coleitec, said: “As a fast-growing technology-based enterprise, innovative product development is the top priority of Coleitec's development. Through full cooperation with Covestro, we have jointly developed and expanded new applications of polyurethane materials in the field of new energy vehicles and provided innovative, functional, economical, and lightweight product solutions for end customers, giving them a sharp competitive edge over others. I believe that with the joint efforts of both sides, more high-quality and high-performance fiber composite innovative products will be presented in the future.”

PU in wind-blade production is transformative innovation delivered by Covestro teams around the globe. With better mechanical properties, an efficient production process, and a more cost-effective production solution than conventional fiberglass-reinforced epoxy blades, PU blades are opening a new chapter in the wind blade industry.

Commercial success

Covestro and TMT signed a memorandum of cooperation at the fourth CIIE in 2021, based on which significant commercialization results have been achieved. PU wind turbines are now used in commercial wind farms throughout China.

Dr. Binbin Hou, General Manager of Wind Business at TMT, said, “PU wind blades cater to the growing demand for longer wind blade designs. We hope to further collaborate with Covestro to improve the competitiveness of wind energy through continuous technology innovation.”

“We are very pleased to reach the important milestone of the launch of the 1000th blade with TMT,” said Christine Bryant, Global Head of Tailored Urethanes Business Entity at Covestro. “We believe that industrial collaboration is fundamental to addressing global warming and energy shortage issues, and it is also an important part of Covestro’s commitment to a circular economy.”

TMT produces PU wind blades ranging from 59.5 meters to 94 meters in length with different blade designs and layup structures to meet the growing demand for longer and larger wind blades. The 94-meter wind turbine blade, capable of generating

8MW of energy, is the largest ever PU application for Covestro. Multiple TMT factories manufacture these blades under different temperatures, humidity, and altitude, proving the wide applicability of PU resin in the manufacturing process.

Dr. Xuebin Feng, R&D Director of Wind Business at TMT, said, “We overcame many technical challenges to accelerate the production process of large polyurethane resin wind blades and achieve mass production.”

Further collaboration

In addition to wind turbine development, Covestro and TMT have jointly developed PU railway sleepers, which are more durable and cost-effective in maintenance than traditional wood and concrete sleepers. Covestro, an integrated PU solution provider, will cooperate with TMT to provide various PU resins, coatings, and PU machinery solutions.

The two models of Midea’s odourless series refrigerators (BCD-439WFPZM and BCD-516WFGPZMA) use low-carbon-footprint MDI through a mass balance approach from Covestro, a transparent certified solution based on the third-party International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS standard. ISCC is an internationally recognized sustainable development certification system for biomass and bioenergy. Through the mass balance approach, raw materials from biomass or waste are blended with fossil materials and then mathematically attributed to the final products to achieve greenhouse gas reductions. Since mass-balanced products have the same performance as fossil-based products, customers do not need to change their existing production process or equipment.

Realizing the mass production of the low-carbon-footprint refrigerators 

At last year’s CIIE, Covestro made the Asia debut of its mass-balanced MDI. MDI is a key raw material for producing polyurethane thermal insulation layers for refrigerators. This year, the application of the mass-balanced MDI to Midea refrigerators marks the mass production of low-carbon-footprint polyurethane products within the home appliances industry.

Christine Bryant, the Global Head of Tailored Urethanes Business Entity at Covestro, said, “the collaboration with Midea extends the low-carbon-footprint polyurethane to the broad home appliances market. Looking forward, Covestro will develop more solutions through technological innovation to empower the sustainable development and low-carbon transition of the chemical engineering industry and its downstream industries.”

Bringing the new generation of low-carbon green refrigerators within reach

The low-carbon-footprint MDI in the two models of refrigerators has a 60 percent share of biomass raw materials from plants, reducing carbon emissions by percent compared to fossil-based MDI.

Midea, the pioneer of green and intelligent home appliances, is among the first enterprises to obtain the national green product certification. Both models of refrigerators have received the China Green Product Certification, which meets the relevant requirements in terms of practicality, environmental protection, energy saving (energy efficiency rates Class 1), and health (hazardous substance content less than or equal to 1000 mg/kg).

In addition to the display on the booth, Midea will sell the BCD-439WFPZM refrigerators through live streaming on its official Tiktok account, “Midea Refrigerator Flagship Store”. More consumers will be able to buy low-carbon-footprint appliances through the Expo and can become involved in carbon reduction efforts.

Huawei Zhang, the R&D Director of Refrigerator Business at Midea, stated, “The collaboration between Midea and Covestro on low-carbon-footprint green refrigerators marks that low-carbon-footprint PU products have entered the consumer market. To meet the growing demand for sustainable development, we believe that this cooperation can serve as a reference for the whole industry and open more cooperation opportunities on low-carbon materials. We look forward to cooperating with Covestro to take greater corporate social responsibility together.”

The largest import themed expo in the world, the CIIE gathers a myriad of companies from across industries every year. This is Covestro’s second appearance following its debut in 2021.

"The world is increasingly facing enormous challenges. It is in our hands to meet them and set the course for a green, smart and safe future. Many ideas, concepts and technologies are there, they now need to be realized with determination," says Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro. "At CIIE, we want to raise awareness for building a circular economy and for climate neutrality by presenting particularly innovative and sustainable material solutions. At the same time, we want to strengthen relationships with our partners in China and around the world."

A leading example of Covestro’s successful partnerships comes from Hong Kong-based Sinomax, a manufacturer of polyurethane-based comfort products, which will make the global debut of its first low-carbon mattress at the Covestro booth.

"We are honored to stage the world debut of our new low-carbon sleep system products together with Covestro at the CIIE," says Sinomax President Eric Cheung. "This marks a major step towards sustainable development at Sinomax Group, amid growing market demand for low-carbon products in China and around the globe. We look forward to further cooperating with Covestro on a global scale for more sustainable products."

The mattress uses bio-attributed mass-balanced TDI (toluylene diisocyanate), a key component for the production of flexible foams, purchased from Covestro. This can reduce CO₂ equivalent emissions by about 10 kilograms for a single mattress.

Materials with lower carbon footprint

Covestro offers renewable TDI, among other materials, using the mass-balanced method, under which alternative raw materials are allocated to the products as certified by ISCC PLUS. They uphold the same high quality as their fossil-based counterparts without customers having to change their processing operations, while enabling them to reduce CO₂ emissions.

Other solutions featuring the mass-balanced method at CIIE include low-carbon coatings applied to the wood structure on Covestro’s booth. The coatings, made by Chinese company Baichuan, are based on the Desmodur^® CQ hardener from Covestro. The hardener contains more than 30 percent of biomass according to ISCC PLUS and reduces CO₂ emissions by more than 20 percent from cradle to Covestro’s factory gate.

"We believe mass-balanced solutions, among other low-carbon materials, are crucial to support the sustainable development and climate-neutral future of various industries and society. But to broaden this impact, we rely on the strength of more partnerships, and that’s why we are here at the CIIE," says Covestro China President Holly Lei.

In another example, Covestro and Chinese premium smart EV brand HiPhi are deepening their partnership to create next-generation solutions to make mobility smarter and greener. Under a new agreement to be inked during the CIIE, an array of Covestro’s CO₂-reduced polycarbonates, coating and adhesive solutions are expected to be applied in HiPhi’s future models, enabling new functions while reducing their carbon footprint.

Broad portfolio to promote circular economy

Covestro will showcase its cutting-edge materials, solutions, technologies and collaborative ties at several exhibition areas: Future Mobility, Clean Energy, Green Building and Sustainable Living, on top of a Branding & Culture corner designed to improve visitor engagement.

"We look forward to further advancing our sustainable development agenda in China through advocacy and collaboration with our customers, partners and other key stakeholders here," Lei adds.

To learn more about Covestro’s solutions for a climate-neutral future at the CIIE, visit its booth, 3C3-01, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) from November 5 to 10, 2022.

¹ Renewable TDI is produced using the mass balance approach using renewable feedstocks – from virgin biomass as well as biowaste and residuals – which are mathematically assigned to the product.

"Plastics are a must to drive the shared global vision of the circular economy and achieve climate neutrality. At K 2022, we want to highlight the huge potential of these advanced materials to solve global challenges and showcase promising developments," says CEO Dr. Markus Steilemann. "The show will also play an important role in bringing together partners in the value chains and from other sectors. The task now is to move forward together with rapid, major steps toward implementation."

Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer, adds: "We have set ourselves ambitious targets and want to become carbon neutral by 2035 for CO₂ emissions from our operations and renewable energy supply, so that our customers can achieve their climate and sustainability goals. To achieve this, we are relying on close cooperations with them and many other partners," says Govil. "At the show, we will be showcasing innovative products and solutions from the fields of alternative raw materials, innovative recycling and renewable energies that pave the way to full circularity at Covestro."

Covestro will use K 2022 from October 19-26 for a multimedia appearance to network: At the booth, an exciting program of talks will be streamed live throughout in the "Talk Arena" with prominent guests. The Backstage area is a multifunctional space for hybrid events and interactive formats. An extensive digital platform – called "Space" – provides a lot of background information about the developments shown. Innovators and their developments for the circular economy are presented as part of the video series "Meet The Innovators".

Crafting Circular Economy

In this important area, Covestro shows how it is driving the transformation to a circular economy and aims to achieve climate neutrality in its own production and in its supply of renewable energy. With the introduction of the "CQ" label for products based on alternative raw materials, Covestro aims to create greater transparency and make it easier for customers to distinguish them from conventional, fossil-based products.

Another focus is on innovative recycling technologies. The "Recycling Technology Wheel" provides information on current developments. Chemolysis in particular holds great potential for the quantitative recovery of raw materials. Covestro is now introducing the name "Evocycle^® CQ" for all evolutionary recycling processes as an extension.

Crafting Electrification

The shift from fossil to renewable energy sources is also linked to electrification of the important sectors of transport and buildings: The mobile and stationary future is electric. Plastics from Covestro will play an important role in all of these in the future – from power generation and storage to use in vehicles and at home.

Renewable energy also plays a role in a special exhibit: The "Photon," a prototype solar race car, is on display in the outdoor area of Hall 7A. This "Sonnenwagen" was designed and built by a dedicated team of students from Aachen, Germany, who have set themselves the task of developing and racing high-tech vehicles for a particularly sustainable form of mobility. Covestro is the main sponsor of the project.

Crafting Smart Designs

This exhibition area is dedicated to the possibilities of digitalization and open innovation approaches to work in a more connected and sustainable way along the entire value chain.

At K 2022, Covestro will present, among other things, new charging stations and wall charging stations (wallboxes) for future mobility, including the first wallbox produced by partner EVBox using more sustainable polycarbonates. These plastics from the Makrolon^® RE range are produced proportionately from biowaste and residual materials, in part using renewable electricity, and therefore have a very low carbon footprint.

Crafting Sustainable Living

How can urban spaces be made more sustainable without compromising on consumer preferences? Covestro provides answers to this question in this exhibition area. The aims of the developments presented are greater comfort and design freedom, enhanced functionality, more sustainable and circular solutions, and energy-efficient living.

Covestro and Arcesso Dynamics, a custom polyurethane parts manufacturer, will introduce Arfinio^® at K 2022, a breakthrough manufacturing solution for furniture, bathroom fixtures, electronic parts, housings and other applications based on reaction injection molding (RIM) of aliphatic polyurethanes.

All journalists are cordially invited to visit Covestro's booth A 75 in Hall 6. There you will have the opportunity to talk about the innovations and topics on display, and you can obtain the Covestro press kit for K 2022. If you wish, we will also be happy to give you a tour of the booth or arrange interviews.

Therefore, Covestro is turning K 2022 in Düsseldorf from October 19^th to 26^th into a workshop. Under the motto Crafting Connections With You, Covestro is inviting partners, customers, and multipliers to work together on concepts: How can the principle of the circular economy be advanced as a shared, global vision? How can new resources, less energy-intensive processes and integrated supply chains be used?

“A truly sustainable future must not remain a utopia. Now is the time for all partners in the value chain to pull together. Solutions emerge through exchange. At K 2022, we want to showcase the huge potential of plastics. After all, climate neutrality targets and a circular economy cannot be achieved without plastics,“ says Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro. “But the conditions for the entire industry have to change. Above all, we definitely need cheap green power in very large quantities. That’s why we’re coming together in Düsseldorf – to take a big step forward together.”  

Panel discussion on October 19^th with business and society

Covestro is underscoring this ambition with a panel discussion on “Pioneering a Fully Circular Future – with climate-neutral plastics” broadcast publicly on October 19^th starting at 10:45 a.m. on the internet and social media channels. In addition to Markus Steilemann, Dr. Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE, Sophie Herrmann, partner at the SYSTEMIQ think tank, and Teresa Oberhauser, representing youth organizations in the United Nations Environment Programme, will take part in the panel. One thing the participants have in common is that they are demonstrating promising solutions in the fight against climate change and advancing them with partners – whether they are industry, think tanks, or leaders in social and political discourse. 

Four core areas for a climate-neutral company

At K 2022, Covestro invites visitors to discover solutions on the path to a climate-neutral chemical industry committed to the circular economy.

“We are on the journey to becoming a fully circular company and rely on close interaction with our customers and partners. To enable our customers to achieve their climate neutrality and sustainability goals, we have set ourselves an ambitious target. We want to become climate neutral by 2035 from our operations and energy supply, “ says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. “At K 2022, we will be showcasing key highlights from this journey: innovative products and solutions developed with alternative raw materials, innovative recycling, and renewable energies. This allows customers to see for themselves how hydrogen, biomass, end-of-life products and waste can be used as promising alternatives to fossil raw materials. At Covestro, these solutions are already paving the way to a fully circular economy”.

The Covestro booth will focus on four topics of the future:

• “Crafting Electrification” demonstrates how the company is working with partners to advance green energies – for example, with plastics solutions for wind turbines or electric cars.
• “Crafting Sustainable Living” presents modern, climate-neutral plastics for buildings or refrigerators, for example, which help to reduce the CO₂ and energy footprint.
• “Crafting Smart Designs” provides an insight into how Covestro is using the opportunities offered by digitalization to work in a more connected and sustainable way along the entire value chain.
• “Crafting Circular Economy” illustrates how a systematic transition to a circular economy can be the key to climate neutrality and resource conservation.

"These projects will contribute to the high-quality and sustainable development in China and beyond," said Holly Lei, President of Covestro China. "They will also add to the scale and strength of our Shanghai site, which will be playing a key role in the quest of Covestro to becoming operational climate neutral by 2035."

A leading supplier for sustainable solutions

The new plant for PUDs, as well as a further line for polyester resins, from which PUDs are produced, are due to be completed in 2024. PUDs are used in more environmentally compatible coatings and adhesives for a wide range of applications, including automotive, construction, furniture, footwear and packaging. For instance, Covestro’s Bayhydrol^® and Bayhytherm^® raw materials are used in basecoats for automotive OEM and refinish coatings, as well as in wood and furniture coatings and robust floor coatings, while adhesives formulated with Dispercoll^® U are used in furniture and shoe manufacturing as well as in the automotive industry. Independent of the investment of Covestro in Shanghai, its large portfolio of waterborne polyurethane coating raw materials based on PUDs for various applications also includes products of the Baybond^®, Impranil^®, NeoPac^® and NeoRez^® series. 

"With the new investment, we will be even better positioned to address the rising demand for more environmentally compatible coatings and adhesives across the globe," said Zhong Xiaobin, Senior Vice President of the Coatings and Adhesives segment of Covestro in the Asia Pacific region. "As one of the global leaders in this segment, we will continue to tap the trend where our customers turn to more sustainable waterborne systems with equally good properties to replace solvent-based products."

High performance elastomers to drive sustainable growth

The new facility for polyurethane elastomers, which are widely used in industries ranging from offshore wind to solar energy as well as material handling, is expected to become operational already in 2023. The market for these flexible and durable materials in China and the Asia-Pacific region is growing faster than both gross domestic product and downstream industries.

"The new facility for polyurethane elastomers will ensure that we have a strong capacity to meet the needs of our customers," said Simon Chen, Head of Covestro’s Elastomers segment in Asia Pacific. "Our Desmodur^® based polyurethane elastomers will serve a wider range of applications as they boast excellent performance, particularly in the field of sustainable energy."

Since 2001, Covestro has invested EUR 3.6 billion into building the Shanghai integrated site, which comprises 11 plants and is the company’s largest site in the world. In the past year, the Shanghai site obtained the ISCC PLUS mass balance certification, meaning it can supply customers with larger product volumes from renewably attributed raw materials.

"The development of these resins is very important to us. After all, it contributes to the expansion of alternative energies and strengthens our strategic orientation to sustainably reduce the CO₂ footprint and take even more steps towards climate neutrality," explains Klaus Franken, Head of Application Development Wind and Pultrusion at Covestro. "To be competitive, the wind industry faces the constant challenge of reducing the Levelized Cost of Electricity. We can help here by enabling our customers to produce rotor blades faster and thus more cost-effectively. At the same time, higher energy yield through optimized blade properties and longer service life also play a role."

Close cooperation with customers

One goal of the Wind Technology Center is to develop robust materials that combine the properties important for rotor blades, such as strength, stiffness and temperature resistance. Existing products are continuously optimized and completely new formulations are developed and tested. Another goal: application technology development in close cooperation with customers. Klaus Franken explains: "Here we can simulate our customers' manufacturing processes and show how our PUR resins help them to realize both their rotor blade designs and the manufacturing process in the best possible way."

Covestro attaches great importance to optimally tailoring its products to the needs of its customers. That is why a number of cooperative ventures with European and Asian wind turbine manufacturers are already in place. The focus here is on constructing and testing prototypes.

The high-tech center is located in Leverkusen and was completed and put into operation at the beginning of this year. It comprises two interconnected units: a laboratory area for chemical development and an Upscaling Plant. The latter is home to processing technology and application development.

Development and application go hand in hand

The center offers clear advantages: "Chemical development and application technology can work hand in hand here. On top of that, the physical proximity makes it easier to exchange information directly and quickly. We use identical resources and the same infrastructure and quickly obtain a comprehensive depiction of the process. This helps us to pursue our goals in a results-oriented manner and without losing knowledge, and enables us to offer new, innovative solutions to our customers," explains Technical Center Manager Frank Grimberg. "Process and plant safety, explosion protection, machine safety and, of course, occupational safety are always in the spotlight here," explains Tobias Wollersheim, who as Project Management was responsible for planning and implementing the investment.

Another positive aspect: with the innovative technology center, Covestro is increasing its attractiveness as an employer. Indeed, wind technology offers a wide range of new, interesting fields of work that arouse curiosity and offer diversity. Covestro has taken on a newly qualified chemical technician from its own training program to operate the machines. He is being intensively trained in the processes and machine technology.

This much is clear: Things are moving in the area of wind energy.

Quotes

To do so, DNV evaluated complex and rigorous comparative tests as well as theoretical analysis by Covestro. Based on design standards for wind rotor blades (DNVGL-ST-0376:2015), DNV confirmed and adjusted the partial reduction factor γm1 of polyurethane resin processed using the vacuum infusion process. This certification applies to the Baydur^® 78BD085 PU resin and the Desmodur^® 44CP20 hardener from Covestro.

Longer and lighter rotor blade designs

Resin materials must prove their long-term aging resistance before they can be given lower safety margins that allow for broader rotor blade design and application. For the first time ever, DNV has lowered the γm1 factor of polyurethane resin, marking an important milestone for Covestro.

Compared to epoxy resin, which is often used to manufacture rotor blades, polyurethane resin shows better mechanical properties. With a lower γm1 value, rotor blade designers can take full advantage of polyurethane and also achieve greater design freedom. As the need for longer and larger rotor blades increases, so does the weight of the blades. Therefore, weight reduction has become an important issue in the rotor blade industry. Polyurethane resin enables the production of lighter blades with the same length, which greatly improves the efficiency of blade production and its applications.

Dr. Irene Li, vice president of research and development for Covestro's Tailored Urethanes business entity in Asia Pacific, remarked, "We are pleased that the excellent performance of polyurethane has been recognized by a wind power industry's certification authority. As more and more polyurethane rotor blades are installed, we look forward to further innovations in polyurethane resin and the rapid development this will bring to the wind power industry."

Innovative materials in focus

For a long time, epoxy resin was the main material used in the production of wind rotor blades. For years, Covestro has invested in research into polyurethane resins to improve rotor blade performance and reduce manufacturing costs. Today, polyurethane – a new material in the field of wind rotor blade manufacturing – is rapidly gaining recognition in the market. With this innovative solution, Covestro aims to drive the use of renewable energy and, in the end, the shift to a circular economy.

Kim Sandgaard-Mørk, executive vice president of DNV's Renewable Energy Certification Division, said, "Wind turbine blades are becoming lighter and larger, while favorable feed-in tariffs for wind energy are gradually being reduced. This poses a challenge for cost control in wind rotor blade production and development. The wind power industry is therefore looking for new material applications while optimizing designs to reduce costs while ensuring optimal performance. By demonstrating the performance of polyurethane under the new blade standards and obtaining a new safety factor certification for its resin products, Covestro is blazing a new trail for blade design."

Converting its energy supply to renewable energy sources is a central pillar in the strategy of Covestro. The company is fully aligning itself with the circular economy and aims to make its production climate-neutral in the long term. “By sourcing solar power from EnBW’s farm, we are underlining our ambition to play a pioneering role on the road to a climate-neutral future and once again sending out a signal for the expansion of renewable energies in Germany. The climate-neutral transformation of the industry requires large quantities of renewable energies at internationally competitive prices,” said Dr. Klaus Schäfer, Chief Technology Officer at Covestro.

EnBW’s solar farm near Berlin with its 465,000 solar panels has been fully connected to the grid since March 2021. “We have long worked on the principle that renewable energy can hold its own on the market without subsidies. PPAs are an important tool for making subsidy-free generating assets commercially viable. They are also pivotal to the energy transition, as they help industrial consumers achieve their climate targets quickly and efficiently. This makes PPAs particularly attractive for companies with energy-intensive production. We are delighted to be able to support Covestro’s production with our solar energy,” explained Dr. Georg Stamatelopoulos, Chief Operating Officer Generation & Trading at EnBW.

More sustainable plastics thanks to green energy

Covestro intends to primarily use the solar power from EnBW in the production of mass-balanced and ISCC Plus-certified high-performance plastics of the Makrolon^® RE and Desmopan^® product series at its sites in Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen. “This enables us to further enhance the sustainability of our production processes and to help our customers reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining the same quality,” Dr. Klaus Schäfer added.

The Group is already able to produce selected grades of Makrolon^® RE polycarbonate that are climate-neutral* from cradle to factory gate. Covestro also produces Desmopan^® thermoplastic polyurethane with an improved carbon footprint. Polycarbonates are used in electronics products and car headlights, among other things. Thermoplastic polyurethanes are used, for example, in household products, ski boots and industrial applications.

A key factor in being able to produce more sustainable plastics is the use of renewable energy. Covestro was an early mover in converting its energy supplies to renewables and has built up a portfolio of various PPAs in Germany, Belgium and China since 2019. The agreement with EnBW is the first PPA for solar power in Europe.

Pioneer in power purchase agreements

EnBW is among the pioneers with regard to long-term PPAs in Germany and recently signed an 85 MW corporate PPA with Fraport, the Frankfurt Airport operating company. It plans to further step up renewable energy marketing activities in 2022 – both for the “Weesow-Willmersdorf” solar farm and for its two other large-scale subsidy-free projects, “Gottesgabe” and “Alttrebbin”. These two 150 MW photovoltaic installations are currently under construction and are scheduled to go on stream in spring 2022.

___________

_{* Climate neutral is the result of an assessment of a partial product life cycle from resource extraction (cradle) to the factory gate, also referred to as cradle to gate assessment. The methodology of our Life Cycle Assessment is based on the ISO 14040 standard, critically reviewed by TÜV Rheinland on the basis of a plausibility check. The calculation considers biogenic carbon sequestration based on preliminary supply chain data and replacing electricity grid mix with renewable electricity used for the manufacturing process. The electricity was allocated on the basis of so-called "Guarantee of Origin" certificates. No offsetting measures have been applied. In the future, the mass-balanced products are to be produced using the renewable energies from the PPA with EnBW.}

Covestro and Tekmar Group have embraced this challenge and are collaborating to develop more sustainable subsea products by leveraging each other’s expertise in their respective fields.

Covestro Elastomers develops cast elastomer systems to provide solutions for the offshore energy market. Tekmar is a leading producer of polyurethane based cable protection systems for the global offshore energy markets.

A key component of the cable protection system is the bend restrictor, which along with the rest of the system, is designed to protect cables in the ocean for decades. So, why not propose an alternative polyurethane elastomer system for more sustainable casting of these products? One of the major challenges is the reconciliation of sustainability and technical performance, without any compromise on quality. To solve this, Covestro has developed a new polyurethane elastomer system based on its CO₂ Technology, now called Triturn^®, which positively contributes to reducing the products´ carbon footprint.

The new system for bend restrictors from Covestro, which was recently honored with the UTECH Europe Award 2021 in the CASE category (CASE stands for coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers), allows to reuse CO₂ as a valuable material source in polyol production and to reduce up to 20 percent of the fossil raw materials which is normally used for the polyol. The new system also makes significant technical gains by being easier to process and improving non-aging properties in salt water. Tekmar is using the new PU system to manufacture sample products at its facility in the North East of England and is currently conducting a range of tests on the products.

Marc Bell, Managing Director at Tekmar Energy, says: "Tekmar is committed to developing more sustainable solutions for the offshore energy markets. Working with Covestro enables us to explore alternative solutions which we can share with our customers to support their transition to cleaner energy and net-zero emission targets."

Through a long-term collaboration, Covestro and Tekmar are proactively shaping the subsea protection industry by introducing an alternative and more sustainable solution to move the offshore industry forward.

"With our broad portfolio focused on the circular economy in various industries, we are strategically well positioned to support China's sustainable development, particularly the country's ambitions to become carbon neutral," said Dr. Markus Steilemann, Covestro's CEO. "Our vision to become fully circular is in line with China's megatrends, as we recognize that China will play a key role in the transition to a circular economy."

Asia debut of mass-balanced MDI and polycarbonate

A key focus of Covestro's presence at CIIE is the use of alternative raw materials. This includes the Asian debut of two ISCC PLUS-certified mass-balanced products with a lower carbon footprint: these are MDI – a key raw material for polyurethanes (PU) – and the high-performance plastic polycarbonate, with imported raw materials. Both contain a significant proportion of alternative raw materials, including plant waste, residual fats and vegetable oils, which partially replace fossil resources. And both are used in a wide range of applications: polyurethanes in insulation, upholstered furniture and automotive manufacturing; polycarbonates in the electronics, automotive and healthcare industries. Covestro's mass-balanced products help make these end-use applications more sustainable, supporting the circular economy and, in some cases, climate neutrality.

Portfolio with diverse applications to enable circular economy

At CIIE, Covestro will be presenting even more technologies, products and solutions to this end. Here are a few examples:

• The company has developed a new technology for recycling flexible foam from polyurethane mattresses that enables the recovery of both key raw materials. This allows the carbon footprint to be reduced along the entire value chain for PU mattresses.
• Covestro is exhibiting its Triturn® CO₂ technology, which enables carbon dioxide to be reused as a valuable alternative raw material in polyol production, replacing up to 20 percent of fossil feedstock. It can be leveraged for many different types of applications and industries, such as flexible foam for mattresses and binders for sports flooring, as an answer to address consumer demands and the rising environmental awareness.
• In Electronics & Electrical, exhibits ranging from 5G infrastructure to smart devices show how Covestro's low carbon footprint material solutions can enable a new era of smart connectivity. The company's portfolio includes polycarbonates with high post-consumer recycled content and with mass-balanced renewable raw materials that can reduce carbon footprints by up to 80 percent.
• Renewable energy highlights include polyurethane resins that enable lighter wind rotor blades and improve the efficiency of their production, and various other material solutions for effective expansion of this renewable energy.
• In the green building sector, Covestro brings its polyurethane solutions for energy-saving pultrusion windows and as insulating foams for buildings, as well as partially bio-based polyurethane coatings for wood furniture.

To learn more about Covestro's solutions for a carbon-neutral future at CIIE, visit Covestro's booth, number 3B5-005, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) from November 5-10, 2021.

Sustainable contribution for offshore wind applications

Offshore energy generators need materials that are strong and durable. To this end, Covestro offers this industry materials that extend the life of equipment installed in wind farms by protecting turbines, submarine cables and more. On the other hand, these companies are also looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprint. To this end, Covestro has developed a Desmodur® PU system made from a material with CO_₂ technology: It helps reduce the use of fossil raw materials and outperforms the previous material solution overall in its mechanical properties.

Introducing the circular economy into mining applications

In the mining industry, the need for solutions to reduce overall costs and increase efficiency in terms of performance and durability is critical. In addition, the industry is seeking insights to improve its waste management and reduce its environmental impact. To this end, Covestro offers a high-performance solution that allows waste to be reintegrated into the production process. Overall, this solution helps reduce the end-of-life costs of parts while maintaining their technical performance. In combination with the use of components made from CO_₂-free materials or bio-based raw materials, these solutions have an even more positive impact on the carbon footprint.

Mass balance approach with alternative raw materials

Mass balance is a chain-of-custody method that mixes fossil and alternative raw materials in production, but treats them separately in accounting. It enables the allocation of alternative raw materials to selected end products. The mass-balancing approach introduces alternative raw materials into the value chain while taking advantage of the existing chemical infrastructure's high efficiency and economies of scale, accelerating the industry's transition to a circular economy for plastics.

Mass-balanced products from Covestro with allocated alternative content have a significantly lower CO_₂ footprint compared to fossil-based alternatives, but show the same good quality and properties. For MDI raw materials, Covestro already relies on mass-balanced products. As part of its comprehensive program to drive the transition to a circular economy, the company is gradually shifting its system offering to alternative raw material sources, including renewables.

Visit Covestro's booth E28 at the MECC Exhibition & Convention Center in Maastricht to learn more about our solutions.

In the German cities of Überlingen and Stuttgart, climate-neutral residential quarters are being realized as part of the STADTQUARTIER 2050 project – with a special focus on socially responsible rent development –, which are already intended to serve as a lighthouse for the climate targets to be achieved by 2050 at the latest. The project includes both new buildings and the renovation of existing buildings. See the video.

Highly efficient insulation material

At the subproject in Überlingen, the focus is on very good thermal insulation of the around 170 residential units distributed over 14 new buildings. It is achieved by means of an efficient high-performance insulation material from project partner puren. "Our insulation panels make an important contribution to ensuring that the buildings in Überlingen meet the top energy standard KfW 40 Plus," explains Dr. Andreas Huther, Managing Director of puren. KfW Efficiency House 40 Plus means that a building requires only 40 percent of the primary energy of a reference building in accordance with the Energy Saving Ordinance. "But the insulation boards offer even more sustainability, as they are manufactured in a resource-friendly way and are also durable and recyclable."

"The insulation boards are based on polyurethane raw materials from Covestro and offer the best insulating effect of commercially available insulation materials," adds Fernando Resende, Marketing Manager Building and Construction in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Covestro. "Therefore, they can be designed thinner compared to other materials to achieve the same insulating effect. The result is a gain in usable space in the home, but also less resource consumption in the manufacture of the panels."

Affordable housing

The socially responsible rental concept of the investor, Baugenossenschaft Überlingen (BGÜ), also ensures a plus in sustainability. Low energy costs due to thermal insulation, a gain in living space due to slim facade insulation, and an innovative and efficient local heating supply all contribute to this. In addition, there is a new type of neighborhood app tailored to the residents with a bonus system for conscious energy consumption of the Project Group Business Informatics of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (FIT). The socially compatible and rent-neutral renovation of the neighborhood on the outskirts of Überlingen also contributes to this.

STADTQUARTIER 2050 is supported by the Federal Ministries of Education and Research (BMBF) and Economics and Energy (BMWi) as a flagship project at the neighborhood level (funding code: 03SBE116). It is part of the interdepartmental funding initiative “Solar Building/Energy Efficient City” within the framework of the 6th energy research program of the Federal Government.

Individual city quarters such as the one in Überlingen serve as real-world laboratories in which, with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, innovative concepts for the heating and energy revolution can be researched and implemented simultaneously, but also quickly transferred to other municipalities.

"I am fascinated by the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit with which the students are developing and optimizing new ideas for solar cars," says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. "That’s why we’re sponsoring this project: with our commitment to sustainable future mobility and building a Circular Economy, we want to encourage young people from top universities to use their talents to work with us to develop advanced materials and technologies."

"After two years of hard work, we finally reveal our new Sonnenwagen," says Simon Quinker, vice chairman of Team Sonnenwagen Aachen. "By using innovative technologies, the Covestro Photon is the most efficient Sonnenwagen. We are looking forward to the cooperation with Covestro and together we are taking a further step towards sustainable mobility."

Becoming fully circular

Global challenges such as climate change and increasing resource consumption require new concepts for future mobility. Covestro has been developing material solutions for electromobility for some time, but is also focusing on the increased use of renewable energies such as solar and wind power. Together with the use of alternative raw materials and the development of innovative recycling concepts, it is part of a comprehensive program with which Covestro is fully gearing itself to the Circular Economy. To achieve this, the company cooperates with many partners along the value chain as well as with universities and institutes.

In the solar cars of the Sonnenwagen team, Covestro is testing innovative and sustainable materials under the extreme climatic conditions that typically prevail on such race tracks: very high UV radiation, high temperatures and mechanical vibrations while driving. The company thereby underscores that its innovative and sustainable materials can be used in cutting-edge technologies, for example for cars. In addition to partially biobased raw materials, the company also plans to launch recycled plastics in the next vehicle.

Globally, water stress will affect approximately 50 percent of the world's population by 2050. That is why Covestro is already taking action today. At the production sites in Krefeld-Uerdingen and Caojing near Shanghai, industrial saline water recovery plants are already in operation that treat and reuse part of the process water from polycarbonate production. Covestro is thus helping to conserve resources.

With the RIKovery project, Covestro now wants to take the next technological step to be able to reuse even more process water than before. During the three-year runtime, the project consortium wants to explore how salt-containing industrial water streams can be used as fully as possible to relieve natural water resources. 

Further develop existing process technology

"Strengthening cycles is Covestro's declared goal. We are now taking the next step with RIKovery to use process water in a circular way. The further development of our existing technology shows that the direction is right. Now we need to stay on course to use even less water and salt as raw materials for industrial applications in the long term," says Klaus Schäfer, Chief Technology Officer at Covestro.

In addition to Covestro, other project partners from industry, plant engineering and research are working together. They also include the RWTH Aachen and TH Cologne universities, the Water Technology Center, the Analytical Research Institute for Non-Target Screening (AFIN-TS GmbH), BWS Anlagenbau und Service and Evonik Industries. Chris Malkomes of project partner K+S AG says: "We are pursuing the common vision of using saline industrial water streams by treating them. In addition, the aim is to obtain the most highly concentrated permeate possible from the tailings waters of the potash industry, which can be integrated into existing production cycles and utilized there."

"Forward-looking, efficient industrial water management will become a key factor for safe industrial production in the future," says Thomas Track of DECHEMA, which is coordinating the project accompanying the BMBF funding initiative. "Water-efficient sites are a real locational advantage with a view to resource conservation, but also with a view to droughts favored by climate change."

Covestro supports UN SDGs with internal water initiative

Covestro is aware of the special responsibility that the use of the valuable resource of drinking water entails. For this reason, the Leverkusen-based materials manufacturer has additionally launched an internal initiative to creatively develop proposals for sustainable water use. As part of this campaign, the workforce was called upon to submit ideas with business potential based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Employees from all regions participated in the water initiative. This resulted in dozens of ideas for innovative solutions around the topic of water. A jury selected more than 20 from all the ideas. These are now being tested at the working level.

Among the suggestions from the workforce, many ideas were generated for urban agriculture, but also for cleaning water of microplastics. A major role was also played by the company's own water consumption in production and how this can be improved.

If the ideas prove to be effective and feasible, they will be introduced on a large scale. In this way, Covestro is helping to protect the important resource of drinking water even better in the future.

The circular economy is regarded as a crucial systematic approach to achieving climate neutrality, conserving the limited resources of the earth and advancing the protection of the environment and nature. In the Covestro talk, participants discussed ways to achieve this under the slogan "Joint Solutions". The industry must, above all, make its production processes fossil-free throughout by consistently switching to renewable energies and replacing oil with renewable raw materials. At the same time, recycling needs to be massively expanded, which also requires behavioral changes in society.

German minister Schulze: “Keep plastics in circulation”

Environment Minister Svenja Schulze: “Waste prevention and recycling are central components of a true circular economy. If products are reusable and returnable packaging solutions are widespread, then we no longer need climate-damaging petroleum for plastic packaging. With recycling, we can keep plastics in circulation and reduce the use of primary raw materials. Too much plastic waste is still being burned, even in Germany. The Federal Government is making manufacturers responsible for packaging waste. With ambitious recycling targets, we have provided the decisive impetus for a plastics recycling industry in Germany. If a company only uses the resources that it really needs, then that amounts to an active contribution to climate protection.”

Covestro CEO Steilemann: “Let’s initiate a raw material revolution”

Steilemann emphasized that climate-intensive industries such as chemicals, in which Covestro operates, must together initiate a real raw material revolution. "The oil age is coming to an end. We can achieve sustainable production with alternative raw materials such as biomass, CO₂ and waste, which are being circulated and do not release any greenhouse gases. There are more and more insights, ideas and inventions that we must implement together. But we also need better framework conditions for the investments that must be made."

Ørsted deputy CEO Neubert: “Foster cross-industrial partnerships”

For Neubert, Ørsted’s Chief Commercial Officer and deputy CEO, the consequent and accelerated expansion of green energy is crucial to achieve the circular economy and climate neutrality. Partnerships between companies in the energy sector and other industries could give important impetus for this. ”Ørsted plans to install 50 gigawatts renewable energy by 2030. A large share of this will be offshore wind. The continued and consistent expansion of wind energy in the North Sea and Baltic Sea will be essential to secure the electricity supply in Germany and Europe, as well as to enable the production of renewable hydrogen. Transnational projects, such as energy islands, are just one of many important innovative ideas."

Expert Kadner: “Involve also citizens in the transformation”

Kadner emphasized that not only production methods but also value chains must change: "If we want to leave the ‘throwaway society’ behind us and implement a true circular economy, we need new forms of cooperation. To create the networks we need for value creation, to successfully implement circular business models and achieve truly circular product management, all stakeholders - including citizens - must be involved." The Circular Economy Initiative Deutschland, whose office is headed by Kadner, is working together with experts from business, academia and civil society to demonstrate new approaches.

The broadcast was recorded and can be accessed here. In addition, Covestro provides background texts on the circular economy and the topics of alternative raw materials, renewable energy and innovative recycling.

Find here the press release about the event.

Webcast „Fully Circular Talks“:

Watch the webcast “Joint Solutions – Collaboration is key to drive the circular economy for plastics" here.

Photos:

Circular Economy @Covestro:

Find more information here.

Covestro at a Glance:

Are you looking for more information? Here you could find further facts about Covestro.

"Covestro takes the award as an honor but also as a responsibilty to deliver on its Circular Economy vision. Enabling growth for the global wind industry is one of the company’s major goals," said Dirk Soontjens, External Representative for Covestro in the Polyurethanes Wind Segment, at the award ceremony. "The productivity and good mechanical properties of the resin system also provide the opportunity to design longer and more durable blades to achieve higher annual energy production and lower energy costs, while removing roadblocks that the industry faces."

More efficient production of rotor blades

The processing and mechanical properties of Covestro's PU were studied through prototyping and advanced computer simulations. Thanks to their low viscosity at room temperature and high reactivity at elevated temperatures, they enable rapid infusion and curing. Compared with epoxy resins, this leads to significantly shorter rotor blade production cycles. Together with the potential for weight savings and their resistance, the PU resins reduce total cost of ownership by increasing energy efficiency and lowering manufacturing and maintenance costs.

In addition, several Covestro coating solutions for offshore wind turbines were included in the case presented for the JEC Innovation Award. These include a solvent-free gelcoat, a waterborne 2-component topcoat and a polyaspartic-based leading edge protection coating. The systems feature excellent adhesion properties on PU composites and were successfully tested under simulated offshore conditions. They facilitate the manufacturing process for rotor blades and thus improve the productivity of wind turbines.

"The certification brings us one big step closer to our goal of making wind power generation more efficient," says Dirk Soontjens, who coordinates the global wind power program at Covestro. "At the same time, we are underscoring our global reach and desire to help wind turbine manufacturers around the world adopt this cost-effective, durable, and sustainable solution. For this purpose, we operate expert laboratories in Shanghai and Leverkusen and are currently scaling up more production capacity for the newly certified resin."

Advantages over epoxy resins

"The rotor blades are manufactured from the PU infusion resin and fiberglass meshes under vacuum in a process we developed together with our partners," explains Klaus Franken, who is responsible for the development of processing technologies. "Due to the high infusion speed combined with faster curing and significantly lower heat release of the PU resin compared to the commonly used epoxy resins, the productivity of rotor blade production can be significantly increased."

The DNV certification mark also confirms the good mechanical properties of the resin in rotor blades for wind turbines. This opens up opportunities for design optimization to produce lighter and longer blades.

Working with customers in the wind power value chain, Covestro offers materials that not only inspire innovation in wind turbine design, but also help boost the efficiency of wind farms on a larger scale. In addition to polyurethane resins, these include raw materials for protective coatings, including those for leading edges of rotor blades, and elastomers for guiding submarine cables.

A pillar of the circular economy

Renewable energy sources such as wind energy are becoming an increasingly important alternative to fossil fuels. In addition to developing innovative material solutions for wind turbines, Covestro aims to continuously enhance its production processes and energy systems to pave the way for a climate-neutral future. This is also a key pillar of a global program to fully align the company with the circular economy.

This also includes securing Covestro´s own energy supply from renewable sources. That's why the company has signed a supply agreement with the energy provider Ørsted to supply its German sites with green electricity starting in 2025. A contract has now also been signed with the Belgian utilities company ENGIE to supply the Antwerp site from its wind turbines, starting as early as April 1, 2021.

The new agreement, known as a Corporate PPA, covers a capacity of 39 megawatts. This equals the energy supply for about 30,000 private households and reduces Covestro’s carbon footprint in Belgium by more than 38,500 metric tons of CO₂, which is equivalent to the emissions of almost 20,000 cars per year.

More energy efficient production

Production in the chemical industry is traditionally energy-intensive. Covestro sees this as an incentive to take responsibility and minimize both energy demand and CO₂ emissions from production plants and processes. With its various innovative process technologies and a licensed energy management system Covestro has already significantly increased energy efficiency and reduced emissions from its production. The company has set itself the goal to halve its specific carbon dioxide emissions by 2025 compared to 2005. In addition and in line with its new vision, Covestro wants to obtain most of the remaining energy from wind power.

"The new supply agreement is a milestone in the conversion of our production to the use of renewable energies," says Georg Wagner, Managing Director at Covestro in Antwerp. "Wind energy, together with the use of sustainable raw materials and innovative recycling technologies, are important steps towards realizing our vision of becoming fully circular and achieving the climate goals of the European Green Deal. We are pleased to have found a partner in ENGIE to take this next step, with which we support our customers and the corresponding value chains to produce more sustainably."

Largest supplier of renewable energies in Belgium

Vincent Verbeke, head of ENGIE Global Energy Management in Belgium, says, "Being the largest renewable energy producer in Belgium, ENGIE acts to accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral world, by supporting its clients in reaching their sustainability goals. We are proud to help Covestro meet their environmental goals and to facilitate their consumption of onshore wind energy. This contract also illustrates ENGIE’s strong ambition to increase renewables’ development in Belgium."

Covestro already signed a major industrial customer supply contract with energy provider Ørsted to cover a significant proportion of the electricity requirements of the German sites for a long-time period as from 2025. The current contract with ENGIE will make Antwerp the first Covestro production site powered almost half by wind energy.

At its Antwerp site, Covestro produces the high-performance plastic polycarbonate, which is used in car headlights, electrical and electronic components, LED lights, medical technology and many other applications. It also produces polyethers and the important industrial chemical aniline. The latter is eventually processed into methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), a raw material for rigid polyurethane foam, which has proven to be an efficient insulator for buildings and in the cold chain.

In its search for a more sustainable solution for the offshore industry, molding company Polarttech opted for a Desmodur^® elastomer system containing cardyon^® polyols. This cast polyurethane elastomer offers the following advantages:

• The part produced with this system shows very good hydrolysis resistance, as expected from such an offshore application, and is more durable than other elastomers such as rubber.
• The polyurethane system enables the production of elastomers with high-performance or even better mechanical properties such as tensile strength and tear resistance than corresponding conventional cast polyurethane systems made from fossil raw materials.
• The solution offers the possibility to reduce the carbon footprint and dependence on fossil raw materials.

"The use of CO₂ in chemical raw materials is a groundbreaking innovation that is in perfect harmony with our vision of recycling," comments Thomas Braig, Head of Covestro Elastomers. "What is important to us, of course, is a successful application in practical use. We are pleased when manufacturers choose this sustainable solution, and appreciate the trust they place in our innovations, especially in our Desmodur^® elastomer system, which contains cardyon^® polyols."

"Our goal is to provide our customers with the quality products they need," adds Arthur Brouwers, CTO of Polarttech. "The tests we conducted confirmed both the property profiles and the processing conditions of the system developed by Covestro." The newly developed solution surpasses Polarttech's previous system in terms of resilience and abrasion resistance. Moreover, its processing is easier thanks to a long pot life and excellent detaching when the part is demoulded. "The use of cardyon^® polyol in our system rounds off this project and makes it a perfect solution for everyone involved," says Arthur Brouwers, "especially for the environment!"

Covestro intends to base all the company’s operations on the principles of the circular economy and is pursuing the long-term goal of climate-neutral production. “Technological innovations in the area of process technology, in particular, are an important pillar of our strategy to achieve this goal,” says Dr. Klaus Schäfer, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Covestro. “AdiP is a technology we have worked on intensively in its development at multiple sites, and which once again underlines the innovative leadership of Covestro.”

“If we want to overcome the climate crisis as a society, we need ambitious and innovative impulses from the industrial sector. Innovative economic activity and climate protection are not opposites; nowadays, business and climate protection belong together. You can see this in the Covestro project presented to us today", says Minister Jan Philipp Albrecht.

More efficient and environmentally friendly than existing processes

AdiP stands for adiabatic-isothermal phosgenation, which describes the key feature of the technology: the reaction is controlled more efficiently and does not require an external heat supply, as the heat generated during the reaction process is used.

As a result, this innovative production process significantly reduces energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in MDI production. Thanks to AdiP technology up to 40% steam and 25% electricity can be saved per ton of MDI produced in an MDI plant – and CO₂ emissions are thus reduced by up to 35%.

Another advantage of the innovative method is that the production output increases by 50% compared to the technology currently in use. As a result, future MDI production plants based on AdiP technology can be smaller than in the past.

Pilot phase to bring long-term experience

“I am confident that the new technology will pass its practical test and become an important component of our growth strategy for MDI. At the same time, I expect AdiP to significantly improve the efficiency of our production processes,” says Daniel Meyer, head of the Polyurethanes unit at Covestro. The pilot phase should be completed in about 12 months’ time.

“I am proud of the fact that this innovative process has been implemented for the first time on a large scale at our Brunsbüttel site. And I am absolutely convinced that our employees will successfully commission the new technology and optimize it for future use in our global production network,” says Dr. Uwe Arndt, the Brunsbüttel site manager.

Covestro is one of the world’s leading producers of MDI, a raw material much in demand for producing energy-efficient insulation solutions for buildings and refrigerating devices. In 2019, the global MDI market had a volume of around 7,500 kilotons and is expected to further grow in the long term. With the new technology, Covestro is making an important contribution to achieving the climate goals of its customer industries.

For this purpose Covestro, one of the world leading companies in high performance polyurethane solutions, provided the leading wind turbine blade manufacturer Goldwind with a special Baulé^® infusion machine for processing its high performance polyurethane resin. Goldwind and Covestro achieved a major breakthrough with the development and production of a 64.2 m long polyurethane turbine blade.

“Covestro Elastomers developed a tailor-made Baulé^® machine for the direct infusion of polyurethane rotor blades,” said Philippe Jeantin, Global Head of Machines Division, Business Segment Elastomers at Covestro. “We designed this machine to solve various challenges involved in this manufacturing process, e.g. process under vacuum, high volume casting and speed of resin infusion. This machine is therefore combining a very accurate dosing, a large variable output controlled by in-mold pressure and a real time data management to ensure a high quality direct infusion process for these large rotor blades.”

New vacuum infusion equipment for polyurethane resin processing

“Today, as the wind energy market is growing, we are faced with the challenge of producing ever-larger wind blades,” says Liu Baofeng, Professor-level Senior Engineer, Head of Windblade Material Development at Goldwind. “We were therefore looking for a reliable partner to provide us with the dispensing equipment which is suitable for processing the PU resin especially developed for larger wind blades. Our manufacture was successful thanks to the machine that Covestro engineered for the production of a 64.2 meter turbine blade. It will allow us to propel the whole industry to make sustainable and innovating progress towards such large blades. In the future, both sides will strengthen the cooperation in materials and related equipment, for promoting a continuous innovation and upgrading of materials for rotor blades.”

“The successful trail of this such long rotor blade manufacture using polyurethane resin proved that our Baulé^® machine is qualified for the direct infusion process,” adds Simon Chen, Head of Covestro Elastomers in the Asia-Pacific region. “Our local machine team in China will support our partners to achieve rapid growth and technical upgrading of the wind power industry.

”With the rapid development of the wind power industry, larger wind turbine blades have become increasingly popular in the industry. Covestro has been committed to providing innovative and sustainable products and cost-effective integrated solutions for the wind power industry to cope with market requirements and to support the expansion of renewable energy. In cooperation with industry partners such as Goldwind, Covestro will continue to contribute to the efficient development of the wind power industry.

The polyurethane wind turbine blade, from the spar cap to the shear web and the shell, is made entirely of polyurethane infusion resin, making it the first of its kind in the global wind power industry. Extensive static and dynamic fatigue tests are being carried out to evaluate the durability of the wind turbine blade before small-scale production commences in 2020.

“In the course of our R&D cooperation with Goldwind and LZ Blades, the superior properties of polyurethane resin were further proven through this trial production. We believe that Covestro’s solution can greatly contribute to the sustainable development of the wind power industry,” said Dr. Irene Li, Head of Application Development Asia Pacific in the Polyurethanes segment at Covestro.

Decreased costs and increased benefits for wind power enterprises

Test results showed that the polyurethane resin displays better mechanical properties compared with traditional epoxy resin. As it does not require post-curing and has a lower viscosity and faster infusion speed, the polyurethane resin system can greatly improve the efficiency of blade production, thus increasing the competitiveness of blade manufacturers. In the end, the solution with the polyurethane resin is more cost competitive than the one with the epoxy resin.

In addition, Goldwind has optimized the structural design of the blade, giving better play to the advantages of polyurethane’s mechanical properties and infusion speed and ensuring the smooth production of the blade.

Birong Wen, head of Goldwind’s wind blade development team, said, “Polyurethane is a very cost-effective material, and can thus provide great support for wind power enterprises when wind power prices will reach parity with thermal power after 2020. In the future, we will invest more in the development of new materials and explore how to apply these technologies to large-scale offshore blades to achieve greater competitiveness. This will help boost the upgrading of materials for wind turbine blades and the continuous innovation of the industry.”

Jitendra Bijlani, head of R&D from LZ Blades, said: “The improvement of blade production efficiency by using polyurethane not only enhances the blade cost competitiveness, but also becomes the key to serve our esteemed customers with material technology flexibility. This keeps us ahead in an increasingly challenging market environment."

With the rapid development of the wind power industry, larger wind turbine blades have become increasingly popular in the industry, resulting in higher requirements for various aspects of wind turbine manufacturing, including the infusion resin. As the inventor of polyurethane chemistry and a leader in its application, Covestro has been committed to providing innovative products and cost-effective integrated solutions for the wind power industry to ride the latest development trends. In further cooperation with industry partners, Covestro will continue to contribute to the efficient development of the wind power industry.

About Goldwind:

Established in 1998, Goldwind is a world leading wind turbine technology and energy solutions provider. Goldwind was among the “Top 50 Most Innovative Companies” on several occasions, one of 2016 “Top 100 Global Challengers”, and one of Intellectual Asset Management’s (IAM magazine) Intellectual Property Champions of China. Since Goldwind was founded, it has installed a total capacity of 50 GW in power around the world, with 31,000 operational wind turbines on six continents and in nearly 24 countries. Also, Goldwind is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (002202) and Hong Kong Stock Exchange (02208). On October 22, 2019, the “2019 Global New Energy Enterprise 500 List” was released, in which Goldwind ranked 24th.

About LZ Blades:

LZ Blades (Lianyungang Zhongfu Lianzhong Composites Group Co., Ltd. ) is a national key high-tech enterprise integrating the development, design, production and service of composite products. Belonging to China National Building Material Group (CNBM), a leading diversified PRC building materials company, LZLZ Blades is headquartered in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, the coast city which makes LZ Blades the nearest factory to the port with a distance of only 35 km. Besides, LZ Blades owns 8 blade manufacturing facilities in China.

With the faith of protecting clear water and blue sky, LZ Blades makes continuous efforts in blade development. Since the very first piece of blade was successfully manufactured in 2006, LZ Blades has earned great success in both home and abroad market. Up till the end of 2019, the accumulated installed capacity of LZ Blades reached 30,000 MW with 20,000 sets of blades being produced. Keeping the mind of forging ahead with innovation, LZ Blades dedicates to providing the best and professional services to its customers.

About Covestro:

With 2019 sales of EUR 12.4 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2019.

Forward-looking statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro’s public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

“We’ve seen very positive progress in our collaboration with Tongji University in the academy during the past year. Together we have launched projects that will drive the industry and entire economy towards more sustainability and in particular promote the transition to a Circular Economy, also on a global scale,” says Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro, on the occasion of the yearly Academy meeting via digital conferencing. “In China, we are always committed to open innovation, and we will continue to work closely with our partners to advance all these initiatives.”

For example, the joint Academy has been exploring battery thermal management systems for EV cars and energy storage, which will be important to become more cost competitive in the course of lowered CO2 emissions. Other projects included the development of new materials for next generation of lithium-ion batteries, and exploring 3D-printing-enabled structures for absorbing striking energy in order to improve the safety performance of the EV battery. Elsewhere, the academy is also studying flexible sensors materials for robot skin applications, as bionic robots are set to provide indispensable support for an aging population in China.

For this year, a circular economy-themed students competition in China will add to the Academy’s calendar in order to encourage further efforts in sustainability. The competition will target the reuse of polyurethane foams from mattresses, and students are encouraged to unleash their creativity in business and technology study to work out innovative ideas, while getting support from experts at Covestro and Tongji University. The winning plan may be supported as a practical project in 2021 at the Covestro-Tongji Innovation Academy.

Prof. Dr. Wu Jiang, Executive Vice President of Tongji University adds, “We are excited to see our cooperation with Covestro, a leading materials company, to make strong progress in the emerging fields that will help foster sustainability in the future. Our alliance is a great example of industry-academia collaboration, and we are fully confident that the academy will step up transforming great ideas into real innovations and business models to be widely used in downstream enterprises.”

“We see open innovation as key to our success, which includes exchanges and collaborations along the value chain. I am glad to see solid progress and achievements in market-driven innovation, digitalization and sustainability from the Academy to drive the transformation of creativity into promising business models,” says Dr. Michael Schmidt, dean of the Academy and Head of Innovation for the Asia-Pacific region at Covestro. “We are on track to form a powerful industry-academia ecosystem with complementing capabilities to further empower our business, industry and economy in the future.”