Covestro looks at innovative solutions for sustainable growth
On 24th August 2018, Covestro signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), a leading chemical technology research university. The agreement aims at finding innovative solutions that can act as an enabler and provide a significant contribution to achieve the sustainable goals. According to the agreement, the research would span from warming and insulation for open poultry sheds, modification in the manufacturing process to produce Flame Retardant PU and PU-PCM for cold storage.
The aim of this MoU is to build scientific and technical knowledge through joint research and to implement the research findings in industry wide application. It will facilitate the development of polymer based PCM material that can replace non-efficient and high energy consuming elements.
The MOU was exchanged by Mr. Ajay Durrani, MD, Covestro India along with Dr. Thomas Toepfer, CFO, Covestro AG and Prof. G. D. Yadav, Vice Chancellor, The Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) where both Covestro and The Institute of Chemical Technology looked forward to collaboration and opportunities.
During the announcement, Mr. Ajay Durrani, MD, Covestro India said, “We are confident that through this partnership we are able to conduct ground breaking research that will enable us in finding sustainable solutions through large-scale application of talented materials. We truly believe that these research based applications will help us to provide solutions to India’s food safety concerns and help in making smarter and safer transportation leading to the economic and social development of the country.”
Dr. Thomas Toepfer, CFO, Covestro AG said, “True to our commitment, we will aim 80% of our R&D project spending to address SDG challenges by 2025. At the same time we will further increase our investments which will benefit India along with some other nations and at the same time create value. We are looking forward to leverage such opportunities in India and APAC region which will help make world a brighter place.”
Prof. G. D. Yadav, Vice Chancellor, The Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) said, “We are delighted to partner with Covestro for the research projects that will provide students with an opportunity to develop practical solutions to India’s food security and national safety problems.”
India has about 6,300 cold storage facilities with a capacity of 30.11 million tons, which are only able to store about 11 per cent of the country's total perishable produce. This creates an enormous gap between agriculture production and its storage. India wastes 40% of all harvested agricultural produce. These cold storage and poultry use electricity and diesel to maintain the temperature which leads to overuse of energy and fossil fuel and has detrimental effects on the environment. Materials that can be used in cold storages and poultries to maintain the required temperature and help reduce the carbon footprint can make a massive difference.
Polyurethane as a Flame Retardant is value added Polyurethane and flame retardants are chemicals which are added to combustible materials to render them more resistant to ignition. They are designed to minimise the risk of a fire starting in case of contact with a small heat source such as a cigarette, candle or an electrical fault. Increased urbanisation has led to an increase in transportation services like luxury bus segment, metro, railway seating etc. offers a great opportunity for the application flexible FR-PU, thereby making travel safer for people at large.
