Polyurethane solutions to foster circularity in major industries

Covestro will attend the UTECH Europe in Maastricht, The Netherlands. Every three years, the trade show brings together the global polyurethane industry for three days of exhibition and conferences. From 23 to 25 April 2024, the show will this year showcase and discuss the state of the industry, its path to circularity and sustainability, as well as latest innovations in products and process technology.

At its booth (C20), Covestro will present materials and solutions that support the corporate vision of achieving a circular economy. Climate neutrality¹ is a core element of that, for which the company just recently announced its “Scope 3 emission” targets, encompassing anything from the raw material base of products to their transport, the performance during their lifetime and the end of their life. By 2035, Covestro intends to reduce 30% of those emissions, while being entirely climate neutral across all scopes by 2050. Working towards that goal, the company’s product portfolio will become ever more sustainable.

“As provider of polyurethane raw materials and solutions, including for example systems for Elastomers, we are at the forefront of circularity and climate neutrality. We take that responsibility seriously and develop recycling technologies, switch to renewable energy and already started the switch to an alternative raw material base,” says Thomas Braig, Head of Elastomers at Covestro. "All the while we ensure maximum quality and performance of our products and to enable our customers to be successful to meet the needs and demands of the market. At our booth at UTECH Europe, customers and interested parties can get a glimpse of how we combine circularity and climate neutrality with product and innovation quality.”

To achieve full circularity, collaborations across value chains in and beyond core industries such as Automotive, Building and Construction or Furniture and Appliances will be key. The motto of Covestro’s booth therefore is “Crafting Solutions For You”, inviting for in-depth exchanges and discussions. It is divided into three core areas:

Crafting Sustainability

In the area dubbed “Crafting Sustainability”, Covestro will be showcasing innovative products and solutions from the fields of alternative raw materials, innovative recycling and renewable energies that tile the way to circularity. One example among the exhibits is Desmodur^® CQ MS. This climate-neutral MDI (cradle-to-gate assessment) is a key component in the production of low-carbon PU insulation boards, specifically designed for thermal insulation purposes.

Crafting Innovations

In the area “Crafting Innovations”, Covestro shows that innovative materials and solutions will be key to answer an ever more demanding market in terms of properties and reliability while striving to cope with the commanding challenge of a more circular and climate neutral world. At the booth, the company will for example showcase a Baulé^® alpha low pressure dispensing machine for cast PU processing. This machine is notably equipped with catalyst and pigment direct injection and allowing an output up to 10 kg/min. To demonstrate automated production capabilities, the company will also showcase a 3-axis robot equipped with sensors and camera allowing automatic mould detection and casting frame selection as well as safety alarms to improve and secure the casting process.

Covestro will furthermore give a glimpse on the latest in terms of recycling with its Evocycle^® CQ program. The goal of the Evocycle^® CQ Mattress initiative is to bring end-of-life polyurethane (PU) mattress foam back to its building blocks polyether polyol and toluene diamine (TDA), a key precursor of toluene diisocyanate (TDI), via chemical recycling. These shall then again be used just like virgin materials.

Crafting Performance

Circularity won’t happen unless sustainable products provide at least equal value and quality for customers and industries. Covestro aims to provide its customers with exactly that – and will showcase some examples how it “crafts performance” during UTECH Europe. For example several products made with Desmodur^® 15 prepolymer based systems. On top of improving safety and comfort in the railway sector, these cost-effective and safe solutions can also boost the sewing process in the loom shuttle or reduce maintenance costs in the offshore wind industry.

¹ _{Climate neutrality is the result of an internal assessment of a partial product life cycle from raw material extraction (cradle) to the factory gate (of Covestro), also known as cradle-to-gate assessment. The methodology of our LCA, for which an external audit and certification will soon be available, is based on the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards. The calculation takes into account biogenic carbon sequestration based on preliminary data from the supply chain. No compensation measures were applied.}