Dow Delivers Bio-based EPDM

Dow has launched a bio-based version of its EPDM rubber material that goes into automotive, infrastructure, and consumer applications. A key component of automotive weather seals and hoses, Dow aims to support not just the automotive industry in achieving its sustainability goals with the launch of Nordel REN EPDM, but also the building and construction sector. EPDM is used in building profiles, roofing membranes, and wire and cable applications.

“At Dow, we recognize the necessity to support our customers in their decarbonization journeys, as we drive toward our own carbon neutrality,” said Global Automotive Plastics Circularity Team Leader Zshelyz Lee. “With our commitment to deliver three million tonnes per year of circular and renewable solutions by 2030, we are proud to bring Nordel REN EPDM as the newest offering to help our customers achieve their ambitious sustainability goals and create a better tomorrow.”

Bio residues do not compete with food chain.

By using bio residues from other industries as the raw material, Nordel REN EPDM can further support Dow customers in the rubber industry to offer their own customers a lower-carbon product. As only waste residues or byproducts from an alternative production process are utilized, these raw feedstock materials will not consume extra land resources nor compete with the food chain.

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Nordel REN bio-based EPDM applications include weather seals, V-belts, and coolant pipes.

The plant-based EPDM will be made through an ISCC PLUS certified mass balance system, which traces the flow of bio-based raw material through a complex value chain and attributes it through verifiable bookkeeping. Crucially, the resulting product offers identical performance to virgin material with no requalification required, helping customers accelerate their transition to more sustainable options without the need for additional time or carbon emissions from the construction and maintenance of a new parallel production stream.

The path to zero.

The arrival of Nordel REN EPDM is part of Dow’s continuous push toward carbon neutrality. The technology behind Nordel EPDM production, Dow’s Advanced Molecular Catalyst, already results in a highly efficient process that uses 24% less energy than the conventional Ziegler-Natta process. The result is a 39% lower carbon footprint for the standard Nordel EPDM grades, which has been validated by a third-party life cycle analysis (LCA). 

Aside from extending its range of low-carbon options to help customers reduce their Scope 3 emissions, Dow is also accelerating investments in renewables and transformative next-generation technologies to reduce its own Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and achieve net zero.