Covestro has commissioned a pilot plant in Leverkusen aimed at advancing the chemical recycling of high-performance elastomers, marking what the company describes as one of the first installations of its kind worldwide for this material class.

 

The project moves Covestro’s recycling technology from the laboratory toward technical validation and potential industrial-scale application, as the company seeks to build circular solutions for materials used in critical automotive, railway and industrial applications.

 

The pilot plant focuses initially on Vulkollan, a high-performance polyurethane elastomer used in forklift wheels, railway buffer elements, automotive jounce bumpers and vibration-control components. Though often out of sight, these materials play a critical role in the safe, reliable and durable operation of vehicles and industrial equipment.

 

“Turning circularity into technically robust and commercially viable solutions is central to Covestro’s strategy,” said Monique Buch, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. 

 

“With this pilot plant, we are bringing innovative chemistry closer to industrial application and responding to our customers’ growing demand for circular solutions. At the same time, the project demonstrates the contribution that Germany’s industrial and engineering expertise can make to more resilient and circular value chains in Europe.”

 

Covestro’s chemical recycling process breaks selected end-of-life Vulkollan material down into purified building blocks that can be reused. According to the company, the process can recycle more than 90 percent of the material by mass and reduce its carbon footprint by up to two thirds compared with fossil-based virgin material.

 

The new pilot plant will allow Covestro to test different waste streams, fine-tune the recycling process and generate the technical data required to assess future industrial scale-up.

 

“This pilot plant is a key step in our pre-industrialization journey,” said Thomas Braig, Head of the Business Entity Elastomers at Covestro.

 

“It allows us to demonstrate the technical feasibility of chemical recycling for Vulkollan®, systematically refine the process and lay the groundwork for future industrial application. Our ambition is to develop scalable circular solutions for high-performance elastomers together with our customers and partners.”

 

The technology is only one part of the challenge. Covestro is also working with customers, recyclers, waste collectors, logistics providers and other partners to establish the collection and return systems required for future closed-loop recycling.

 

Those partnerships will be critical to securing suitable end-of-life materials, maintaining consistent feedstock quality and building an economically viable circular value chain for high-performance elastomers.

 

Covestro also plans to use the pilot plant to explore circular recycling solutions for selected specialty cast elastomers and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), building on its work with Vulkollan.

 

The company said the project reinforces Leverkusen’s role as a center for sustainable materials innovation while supporting its broader ambition to become fully circular.