BASF PBAT is used in running shoe midsoles
On November 21, BASF announced a strategic partnership with Mount to Coast, an ultrarunning and long-distance running shoe expert in Hong Kong, China, to jointly explore high-performance, sustainable solutions for runners.
Innovative midsole CircleCELL™ is the first footwear technology launched in this collaboration. This new midsole is based on BASF's new biopolymer ecoflex ® BMB (biomass-balanced PBAT), which has 90% increased durability while providing the same energy return as midsoles made of polyether block amide (PEBA), a material widely used in high-performance running shoes.
In ecoflex® BMB, fossil-based raw materials are replaced by renewable raw materials at the beginning of the production process. Renewable raw materials come from organic waste and residual biomass and are allocated to ecoflex® brand products through a mass balance method that has been certified by REDcert2 and ISCC PLUS. The biomass-balanced ecoflex® BMB therefore supports Mount to Coast in increasing the use of renewable raw materials in its unique CircleCELL™ midsole foaming process while maintaining the properties required for performance footwear, most importantly durability. BASF's internal tests have shown that ecoflex® BMB outperforms other midsole materials in terms of density and rebound.
Yeti Zhang, Product Director at Mount to Coast, said: "We are committed to making shoes with sustainable materials and innovative processes without compromising the specific performance needs of ultramarathon runners. BASF has been a great partner to our product development team as we look for ways to balance durability and sustainability. Their creativity in bringing proven technologies from one industry to new areas such as the footwear industry is inspiring and in line with our goal of providing new performance solutions to the running community. We are excited to continue our collaboration with a world-renowned biopolymer company."
Marcel Philipp Barth, Head of Global Business Management for Biopolymers at BASF, added: "Since ecoflex® (PBAT) entered the plastics market in 1998, customers from many different industries have come to know and trust it for the advantages it brings to their products with its consistent high quality, performance and sustainability. We are therefore excited to bring BASF's expertise in circular and renewable resources to new applications and inspire customers to think about new applications for our biopolymers. We look forward to further exploring this path with Mount to Coast in the footwear industry: they can rely on our on-site application support and our proven ability to continuously improve the global supply of footwear materials." As a result, Ecoflex® BMB is a perfect fit with BASF's groundbreaking footwear solutions and deep expertise across the entire value chain to cost-effectively create lighter, more comfortable and more durable shoes.
