Adient reduces CO₂ emissions with cushioning based on sustainable polyols by Covestro

Adient, a global leader of seating systems for the automotive industry, and Covestro, one of the world’s leading polymer companies, join forces on the way to improving the circular economy.

From November 2021, Adient will be integrating cardyon^®, a polyol made using Covestro’s CO₂-technology, as a sustainable feedstock for the production of hot cure molded polyurethane foam. Adient deploys these foams as cushioning in its cutting-edge automotive seating systems.

This supply chain-related sustainability milestone helps to further reduce Adient’s scope 3 emissions as calculated by the Greenhouse Gas protocol. Based on the principle of the circular economy, the CO₂-technology by Covestro reuses carbon dioxide as a valuable material source by integrating up to 20 percent of CO₂ into polyol production. The smart contribution helps to preserve fossil resources and close the carbon loop.

David Nash, Vice President Components EMEA at Adient: “Adient is pursuing multiple ways to reduce its CO₂ footprint, further raising sustainability, and this is especially true for the production of polyurethane foam. By choosing cardyon^® by our partner Covestro, we have made another valuable step towards more sustainable production of our high-class seating systems. In addition to the high quality of our products, this means further differentiation and added value for our customers.”

Flexible CO₂ technology enables sustainable solutions

“We feel very pleased that, together with Adient, we are taking a further step towards the circular economy. The fact that our CO₂-technology is now also available for premium car seats confirms the great potential of this unique innovation, realizing high-quality sustainable solutions for the automotive industry”, says Dr. Persefoni Hilken, cardyon^® Venture Manager at Covestro.

By integrating enhanced polyol solutions into the production of polyurethane foam, Adient supports the reuse of CO₂ from chemical processes as an alternative raw material. Thereby the company follows the path of moving away from fossil resources to recycled ones, avoiding CO₂ being emitted to the atmosphere. The CO₂-technology itself can be also used for further applications, such as sports flooring, mattresses, and textile fibers.

The newly-developed foams fulfil all stringent OEM specifications, having the same properties as those produced from fossil-based polyols. Additionally, the new solution can be easily applied within existing production processes, with only a minor modification of equipment.