Across industries, companies must increasingly demonstrate sustainability progress to meet market requirements, Scope 3 reporting needs, and comply with growing regulatory requirements. ”The CQ-Configurator supports these needs by enabling rapid, data-based environmental performance assessments and by improving transparency along the polyurethane value chain.”, said Patrizia Wegner, VP Sales Flex Foam EMLA, Covestro.

“Companies can now compare material choices and reach their desired product sustainability profile in just a few clicks — eliminating the need for time-consuming calculations and lengthy alignment processes”, said Dennis Wagner, Marketing Manager Soft Furniture, Covestro.

From data to decisions: Making sustainability tangible

The CQ-Configurator intuitively allows users to select between flexible or rigid foam applications — such as mattresses, insulation panels, or even special formulations — define technical properties and specify shares of mass-balanced isocyanate and polyol options. The tool then calculates the associated CO₂ impact and sustainable material share of each formulation scenario.

By translating formulation choices into clear, application-specific sustainability results, the CQ-Configurator provides companies with a transparent fact base to support internal decision-making. It enables rapid comparisons of different material options with exportable results that facilitate cross-functional alignment and customer discussions. At the same time, the tool links material choices to market-relevant sustainability benefits, supporting both product development and marketing strategies.

Designed for broad industry use

The tool supports various professional roles involved in product development, including R&D specialists, procurement teams, sales managers, marketing professionals, and sustainability experts. Its intuitive interface ensures that both technical and non-technical users can leverage the insights effectively.

“As sustainability becomes a key differentiator across markets such as bedding, furniture, construction, and appliances, the CQ-Configurator helps companies to make informed choices that align product performance with economic considerations,” added Dennis Wagner.

With the launch of the CQ-Configurator, Covestro is the first European PU materials supplier to offer a comprehensive digital sustainability assessment tool focusing on multiple polyurethane foam applications. Built on third-party verified raw material LCA data¹ and long-standing PU expertise of Covestro, the tool provides transparent and credible sustainability metrics that support informed decision-making across the value chain. The company continues to expand its digital portfolio to support customers in meeting their sustainability targets.

For more information and to request a demo, please visit the CQ-Configurator landing page.

_{1 Methodology for LCA data calculation certified by TÜV Rheinland}

"With this strategic investment, Covestro aims to further enlarge the capacity and improve the reliability of its global supply of Desmodur^® 15 based products," says Philip Bahke, Head of Operations at Covestro Elastomers.

"On top of addressing our customers’ demand, Covestro's Barcelona site has been operating entirely on renewable energy since the beginning of 2022," says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer at Covestro. "This approach is part of our ambition to reduce our environmental impact while offering our customers greater access to our solutions and specialties products."

"We are opening the new production unit for our Desmodur^® 15 prepolymers in Barcelona in parallel to the ongoing expansion of our NDI capacities in the Asia-Pacific region with the Map Ta Phut plant in Thailand," explains Thomas Braig, Head of Covestro Elastomers. "This new production unit will help us to support our customers’ growth in the cast polyurethanes high-end applications segment." The abbreviation NDI stands for naphthylene diisocyanate.

"Thanks to this new production line, our Vulkollan^® licensees, as Desmodur^® 15 prepolymers processors, will be able to further develop their business," explains Abdel Arhzaf, Head of NDI-Vulkollan^®. "Through these investments, we intend to support the demand for ultra-high-performance elastomers used for superior applications as e.g. in the material handling industry and also for a growing number of engineering applications."

Combining the highest mechanical characteristics with dynamic load-bearing capacity, elastomers based on Desmodur^® 15 prepolymers are not only one of the most powerful cast polyurethanes in the market, they are also as easy to process as conventional prepolymers. 

“A new sport is coming” – this is the slogan used by Aquilaboards, a spin-off of the Spanish company Bizintek specialized in engineering and product design. The manufacturer of electric surf boards from the Basque region currently offers three products in its catalog, which are expected to develop a new environmentally-friendly sport: the Carver, a motorized surfboard with a power of 5kW; the Carver X for heavier people – or those who want to reach a higher speed – with a power of 10 kW; and the Manta, a model suitable for everybody that comes with a 750 W jet engine that enables longer excursions. Depending on the board, riders can cruise over the waves at maximum speeds of between 10 and around 45 km/h, depending on the model.

Powerful jet propulsion

All three models have a powerful jet drive, which was designed by an interdisciplinary Aquilaboards team in Bilbao, a UNESCO “City of Design” with a growing surfer culture. The boards also come with a plug & play battery, which can be easily replaced from the body of the board after a charging time of just 2.5 hours. The Carver X, with its higher performance capacity, works with two of them. The battery casings are all made of Bayblend^® FR3010, a high-performance PC+ABS blend from Covestro.

“The plastic material impresses with its balanced property profile, which is a perfect fit for this application,” says Miguel Angel Montero Diaz, Director of Polycarbonates at Covestro Iberia. “Among other things, it combines high heat resistance with excellent mechanical parameters, good flame-retardant properties and outstanding chemical resistance.”

At first glance, the battery requirements for Onean jetboards hardly differ from those for e-bikes or electric off-road motorbikes: when in use, they are exposed to the wind and weather, heat up during charging and discharging and can fall to the ground. The battery must never be damaged, of course. This is where Bayblend^® FR3010 comes into play: the unreinforced injection mold type features improved heat resistance (Vicat/B 120 = 110°C), phenomenal impact resistance and outstanding stress cracking behavior.

Dimensionally stable and flame retardant

The dimensional stability of the surfboards has also proven to be excellent, since the batteries must always fit perfectly into the sockets: gaps can never open up that will allow moisture into the battery, particularly for applications in water. And of course here, like everywhere else where electricity is involved, it is important to consider flame retardance: at a wall thickness of 1.5 millimeters, Bayblend^® FR3010 achieves the category UL 94 V-0 in the flame retardance test of the Underwriters Laboratories, and Class V-1 at 1.2 millimeters. The blend’s high resistance to chemicals is another advantage; for example, in contact with sunscreen and insect repellents.

For a product that is used outdoors in natural environments, there is another, not completely unimportant aspect: the flame retardant systems in Bayblend^® FR3010 are compatible with the requirements of various environmental seals of approval, such as the “Blue Angel” (Germany) or the TCO label, which identifies materials that are designed for recycling.

“Bayblend^® FR3010 is an excellent example of the expertise that Covestro was able to accumulate over the years in casing high-performance rechargeable batteries with polycarbonate materials,” says Miguel Angel Montero Diaz. “Thus, in this application as well, Covestro has cemented its reputation as a highly competent provider of specialty materials for electromobility, which can comply with an entire series of complex requirements in a wide temperature range, also in small series applications.”

About Covestro:

With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 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 16,800 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2018.

Find more information at www.covestro.com.
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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.