Covestro continues its commitment in CIIE

"Together for a climate-neutral future" is the motto with which Covestro is being represented at the China International Import Expo (CIIE).

The German materials manufacturer is showcasing a broad portfolio of products and solutions that support the sustainability efforts and low-carbon development of various industries while strengthening its ties with partners.

Covestro said its appearance at last year's CIIE was a hugely fruitful endeavor as it provided the company with a one-stop platform to unveil new investment projects, strengthen collaboration with authorities, academia and value chain partners, and secure several new contracts. 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 this year comes from Hong Kong-based Sinomax, a manufacturer of polyurethane-based comfort products, which made the global debut of its first low-carbon mattress at the Covestro booth.

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.

Covestro said it focuses on materials with lower carbon footprint.

For example, it 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 are based on a hardener from Covestro. The mass-balanced hardener contains more than 30 percent of biomass 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.

Being the largest import-themed expo in the world, the CIIE gathers a myriad of companies from across all industries every year. Covestro sees the expo as the ideal platform to raise awareness about the increasing need for sustainability measures and forge new relationships to promote them.

Covestro aims to further advance its sustainable development agenda in China, through advocacy and collaboration with its customers, partners and other key stakeholders here, Lei said.

China is already Covestro's single largest market. Its integrated site in Shanghai alone accounts for about a quarter of the company's global production. And it keeps strengthening its presence and investments in China centered around the circular economy.

This July, it started construction of two plants – one for polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) and the other for elastomers at its Shanghai site. In August, Covestro broke ground on its first dedicated line for the mechanical recycling of polycarbonates at the same site.