Ford Motor Company becomes the first automaker to formulate and test new foam and plastic components using carbon dioxide as feedstock. It is expected that the new biomaterials will be seen in Ford production vehicles within five years. Formulated with up to 50 percent CO2-based polyols, the foam promises to meets rigorous automotive test standards. Ford says that the new foam could be employed in seating and underhood applications, claiming to potentially reduce petroleum use by more than 600 million pounds annually – enough to fill nearly 35,000 American homes.
“Ford is working aggressively to lower its environmental impact by reducing its use of petroleum-based plastic and foam,” said Debbie Mielewski, Ford senior technical leader of sustainability. “This technology is exciting because it is contributing to solving a seemingly insurmountable problem – climate change. We are thrilled to be leading the charge toward reducing carbon emissions and the effects of climate change.”
Carbon emissions and climate change are of growing concern to world leaders as a staggering 2.4 million pounds of CO2 are released into the atmosphere globally per second. Plastic manufacturing accounts for nearly 4 percent of the world’s oil use, according to British Plastic Federation. Researching on sustainable materials to build product components is not new to Ford, as for nearly two decades, the company’s researches have successfully developed environment friendly solutions. For example, soybeans are turned into seat foam; kenaf is used in door bolsters; recycled T-shirts and denim go into carpeting; and recycled plastic bottles become seat fabric.
Ford began working with several companies, suppliers and universities in 2013 to find applications for captured CO2. Among them is Novomer – a New York-based company that utilizes carbon dioxide captured from manufacturing plants to produce innovative materials. Through a system of conversions, Novomer produces a polymer than can be formulated into a variety of materials including foam and plastic that are easily recyclable.