DSM, SABIC and UPM Biofuels partner to commercialise an ultra-high performance biobased fiber
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
Royal DSM, SABIC and UPM Biofuels have just announced a
partnership that will help to reduce the environmental footprint of Dyneema®, the
world’s strongest fiber.
Press release: “DSM announces partnership with SABIC
and UPM Biofuels to create bio-based Dyneema®”, 12/3/2020.
Related news: “INEOS and UPM Biofuels enter into a
supply agreement of renewable naphtha for plastics production”, 18/2/2020.
Figure 1. Dyneema is the brand name of the Ultra-High
Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE) of DSM. The different Dyneema formats
are used in applications for a wide range of industries.
In December 2019, DSM
made known ambitious sustainability targets for its Dyneema high performance
fibers. This new partnership represents an important step in realizing the
goal of sourcing at least 60% of its feedstock from biobased raw material by
2030. The transition to biobased feedstock will maintain the unique properties
of Dyneema, enabling customers to adopt a more sustainable solution without
compromising process efficiency or final product performance. The Dyneema biobased
material will be carrying the globally recognized ISCC Plus certification and
will not require re-qualification of downstream products. It will be available
from April 2020.
UPM Biofuels produces its naphtha UPM BioVerno from
talloil a residue of the pulping process. This is then processed by SABIC to
make renewable ethylene under their TRUCIRCLE umbrella of solutions, which includes
certified renewable products, specifically resins and chemicals from biobased
feedstock that are not in competition with the food chain and help to reduce
carbon emissions.