Elvance Renewable Sciences is a bio-based chemicals company that has signed a supply agreement with Stahl, a leading global supplier of leather chemicals and high-performance coatings. The agreement enables Stahl to commercialize new coatings and polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) based on Elevance's C18 polyol technology.
Since 2016, Stahl and Elevance have collaborated to develop high-performance coatings using Elevance's C18 polyol, a new bio-based polyurethane component. Under the recently concluded agreement, the two companies will continue to develop new C18-based coatings, focusing on flexible substrates for a variety of markets, including the demanding automotive industry.
The new C18 polyol technology can improve the hydrolytic stability while maintaining flexibility, and develop hydrophobic and semi-crystalline bio-based coatings.
"Our C18 polyol technology has reached an important milestone," said Rusty Pittman, Elvance's chief commercial officer. "Through our partnership with Stahl, this technology enables bio-based coatings and PUDs to have truly superior performance."
Elevance uses Nobel Prize-winning olefin metathesis technology to produce its specialty chemicals from vegetable oils. The chemical is used in a variety of applications, including detergents, coatings, personal care products, oil fields, agrochemicals, and engineering polymers.
Uwe Siebgens, director of Stahl's Performance Coatings and Polymers Division, added: "We are very pleased to announce this partnership, which enables us to meet our customers' high market demands with high performance solutions while improving our environmental footprint.
"With C18 polyol technology, we are expanding our bio-based, high-performance polyol and polyurethane product portfolio in our Relca and Permutex waterborne polyurethane range. Depending on specific needs, we have the opportunity to design products using a variety of vegetable oils.