Ford Motor Company has announced that it will test the use of captured carbon dioxide to develop foams and plastics for its vehicles. The new products will be used for seating and under-hood applications, according to a Ford press release.
“Ford is working aggressively to lower its environmental impact by reducing its use of petroleum-based plastic and foam,” said Debbie Mielewski, Ford senior technical leader of sustainability, in the Tuesday release. “This technology is exciting because it is contributing to solving a seemingly insurmountable problem – climate change. We are thrilled to be leading the charge toward reducing carbon emissions and the effects of climate change.”
According to the release, the new materials could be used within the next five years. Ford will partner with Novemer, a New York-based company specializing the in the use of carbon dioxide captured from manufacturing plants. “Novomer is excited by the pioneering work Ford has completed with our Converge CO2-based polyols,” said Peter Shepard, Novomer chief business officer in the release. “It takes bold, innovative companies such as Ford to enable new technologies to become mainstream products.”
