Covation Biomaterials has moved its Xatryx bio-based materials from commercial plant commissioning to on-spec production, while teaming up with insole maker INSITE to bring the material into athletic footwear.
The company said its 50,000-ton commercial Qidong plant has produced its first commercial batches of Xatryx.T bioTHF and Xatryx bioPTMEG in molecular weights of 2,000, 1,800 and 1,000. CovationBio said all three grades met expected industry quality specifications following internal testing.
The production milestone comes just four months after mechanical completion of the C4 platform plant in April.
You Feifeng, Chairman of CovationBio, commented, "From mechanical completion to the first commercial batches being on spec, the CovationBio team completed the entire process of equipment commissioning, process optimization, and scale-up in just four months.
"The initial on-spec status of all three molecular weight grades demonstrates the maturity and stability of our proprietary process technology. We are actively collaborating with downstream customers for trial sampling and collecting feedback, which will further validate the performance of our products in end-use applications and their drop-in adaptability to existing application processes."
CovationBio is positioning Xatryx bioPTMEG as a bio-based alternative to fossil-derived PTMEG. The company says the material can directly replace conventional PTMEG in applications including spandex, polyurethanes and thermoplastic elastomers, potentially reducing dependence on fossil resources without requiring major changes to downstream manufacturing processes.
The company also says Xatryx is produced using annually renewable, non-food biomass, including agricultural by-products such as corncobs, and has significantly lower greenhouse-gas emissions from manufacturing than fossil-based alternatives. CovationBio cautions that its emissions and performance claims are based on internal testing and that actual results may vary by application and conditions of use.
The commercial production milestone is being paired with an application push.
At the NW Materials Show in Portland, Oregon, on September 2–3, CovationBio and INSITE are unveiling what they describe as the world's first partially non-food bio-based athletic insole featuring Xatryx bioPTMEG.
The collaboration represents a move beyond raw-material production into a finished footwear component, with Xatryx bioPTMEG serving as a core raw material in the insole.
CovationBio said the project brings together its bio-based materials technology with INSITE's expertise in footwear biomechanics and podiatric design, targeting a wider adoption of bio-based materials in the footwear supply chain.
Zhao Mosha, Global Marketing Director of CovationBio's C4 Platform, stated, "From the on-spec mass-production of Xatryx at Qidong plant to the end-product launch at the Portland footwear show, together with INSITE we have achieved the leap from 'raw materials to end use' within just a few weeks.
"This is not only a technological milestone for both companies, but also a great example that with the drop-in capability of Xatryx to replace fossil-based incumbent and the whole value chain innovative collaboration, the non-food bio-based material industry can move from concept to reality very efficiently."
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