H. B. Fuller, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of industrial adhesives, is to receive a raw material with an attributed share of renewable feedstock via mass-balance from Covestro, a leading global polymer supplier. The two companies have concluded the relevant supply agreement. The mass-balanced polyurethane raw material is ISCC-Plus certified and is to be used in a reactive hot-melt adhesive from H.B. Fuller, where it will replace a proportion of the previous fossil raw materials. It is mainly used in the automotive, wood, composite and textile industries.
"We are excited to supply H.B. Fuller as our first customer for adhesive applications with a mass-balanced product," says Dr. Thorsten Dreier, Head of the Coatings and Adhesives segment at Covestro. "With the increased use of such alternative raw materials, we want to become less dependent on petrochemical feedstocks and make our contribution to the reduction of CO₂ emissions. Alternative raw materials are part of a comprehensive programme to work with our partners to drive the transition to a Circular Economy and ultimately become fully circular ourselves."
"Together with our partner, Covestro, we see this new, strategic product development as an investment in all our futures and a commitment to work towards a more sustainable world", comments Iñaki Sigler, H.B. Fuller’s Global Product Manager for Woodworking and Composites. "The new adhesive solution represents an evolution of previous sustainable product development and will likely extend into other products and areas of production." And he concludes, "We believe that any way CO₂ emissions can be reduced should be embraced, no matter how small, because many small steps can add up to a strong economy of scale and a giant leap forward for the adhesives industry."
Both companies want to help their customers make their production more sustainable and position themselves accordingly. Renewable raw materials are used as a basis at the very beginning of the value chain and processed together with fossil ingredients in the same production units. For this purpose, Covestro works with reliable suppliers who are also ISCC-Plus certified. The characteristic of the renewable raw material is then attributed to the final product.
H.B. Fuller is able to use this drop-in solution immediately in its existing manufacturing processes without any technical conversion, and no adjustments are required at its customers’ facilities either. The product quality is in no way inferior to its conventional counterparts, but the lower attributed CO₂ footprint makes the products more sustainable.
Gradual conversion to alternative raw materials
By gradually converting its production to alternative raw materials, Covestro aims to replace fossil materials and make its value chains more sustainable. Just recently, the company itself received ISCC-Plus certification for the production of renewable aniline at the Antwerp, Belgium, site and of the polyurethane raw material MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate) in Uerdingen, Germany, among other things. ISCC is a globally recognised system for the sustainability certification of biomass and bioenergy.
