puren and Covestro are working together to improve the environmental performance of purenit®, a functional material based on rigid polyurethane foam. As part of this effort, puren has certified its entire purenit® production at its Obermarchtal site under the ISCC PLUS standard. The certification enables puren to use Desmodur® CQ MS from Covestro, a binder based on bio-circular attributed raw materials. The companies announced the development during the inauguration of a new production line at the Obermarchtal facility, with the market launch of the first product based on the new approach planned for 2027.
Bio-Circular Raw Materials to Lower Carbon Footprint
According to Dr Andreas Huther, Managing Director of puren gmbh, the ISCC PLUS certification provides the foundation for using Desmodur® CQ MS as a binder with bio-circular raw materials. The companies aim to maintain the material’s existing performance while reducing its carbon footprint. Consequently, the initiative integrates sustainability into the product’s performance profile without requiring changes to the processing approach.
Hermann Dörholt, Head of the Performance Materials business entity at Covestro, said Desmodur® CQ MS uses MDI based on bio-circular feedstocks and is certified through the mass balance approach. This allows puren to use a raw material with a lower carbon footprint while maintaining its existing processing conditions.
purenit® Combines Performance with Material Recovery
purenit® is a highly compressed functional material made from rigid polyurethane (PUR/PIR) foam, with a density of approximately 550 kg/m³. Despite its relatively low weight, the material offers pressure resistance, moisture resistance and dimensional stability. It also provides insulation and can be sawn, milled, drilled and glued using standard woodworking equipment. Therefore, manufacturers use purenit® in applications such as windows, doors, facades and base areas in construction, as well as bathrooms, wellness areas, outdoor kitchens and interior fit-outs for motorhomes, commercial vehicles and ships.
Upcycling PU Residual Materials
puren produces purenit® through an adhesive-press process that converts polyurethane residual materials into homogeneous boards. This approach effectively upcycles residual material from PU production into a standalone functional product. As a result, the material concept itself already incorporates circularity by recovering and reusing polyurethane production residues.
ISCC PLUS Supports Certified Mass Balance Approach
The use of Desmodur® CQ MS relies on the ISCC PLUS mass balance system. Under this approach, bio-circular feedstocks enter the production process and are physically blended with other raw materials. The corresponding amount is then mathematically allocated to the certified final product. Importantly, ISCC PLUS independently verifies this allocation across the supply chain. Full certification of purenit® production therefore enables puren to substantiate the use of bio-circular raw materials and the associated sustainability benefits.
Collaboration Across the Polyurethane Value Chain
The collaboration combines Covestro’s lower-carbon-footprint raw material with puren’s approach to recovering PU residual materials. In this way, circularity is incorporated at two stages of the value chain: the raw material and the material production process. As per the press release, the companies announced the first purenit® product using Desmodur® CQ MS as a binder at the inauguration of puren’s new production line. The product is scheduled for market launch in 2027, marking another step towards certified circular and lower-carbon polyurethane-based materials.
