Polyurethane foam is a versatile material widely used in automobile manufacturing due to its lightweight, durable, and flexible properties. Due to the demand for greater fuel efficiency in conventional vehicles and for lightweighting in general, auto manufacturers use polyurethane products in car interior parts, including seats. In fact, on average about 20 to 30 pounds of polyurethane foam are used in vehicle seating in a typical car.
Recognizing the importance of extending the lifespan of materials used in vehicles, Dow’s MobilityScience™ material innovators collaborated with auto seat manufacturer Adient, and auto manufacturer JLR, to recover end-of-life polyurethane foam and reintegrate it back into new seats. The partners created seat foam for JLR vehicles made from polyurethane foams recovered from vehicles, marking an industry-first in the automotive sector1.
The Adient Front Seat Cushion prototypes contain 20 percent re-polyol from RENUVA™ and reduce CO2 emissions and waste by recycling polyurethane foam from end-of-life vehicles into new, circular polyol for Adient’s seating formulas. The recycled foam will be one element to a new ‘circular seat’ that it is estimated will half CO2 emissions impact while maintaining high performance, avoiding over 44kg of CO2e per seat, the equivalent of charging almost three thousand smartphones. JLR plans to introduce this material at scale in production vehicles in 2026.
According to data from the Federal Reserve Board, 10.2 million automobiles were manufactured in the United States in 2024. By integrating recycled components into vehicle seat foams, JLR, Adient and Dow are reducing the environmental impacts of global automotive manufacturing. Each company brings their unique expertise to the partnership:
- The JLR Circularity Lab brings cross-functional teams together with expert partners and suppliers to innovate and overcome barriers for recoverability, reusability, repairability and recyclability.
- As a global leader in automotive seating manufacturing, Adient is committed to steadily increasing the use of recycled materials in its seating systems and developing components with closed-loop recycling foams.
- Dow works with companies across the value chain to help identify circular solutions. By 2030, Dow expects to transform plastic waste and other forms of alternative feedstock to commercialize 3 million metric tons of circular and renewable solutions annually.
1 to the awareness of all parties involved this is the first time a PU molded foam for seating applications has been produced under these conditions. Initial lab testing proved technical feasibility based on 20% closed-loop re-polyol content. Next stage testing aims to increase percentage as high as viably possible.
