BASF’s new technology enables more sustainable manufacturing of sports shoes

The chemical giant BASF is committed to the research and development of special new polymers to provide adidas-led "Sport Infinity" (Sport Infinity) program, which aims to develop customization, multiple cycles, and can be used in Europe Manufactured high performance footwear.

The three-year initiative is now a third of the way through, after it was published last (June 2015). And set up to classify and develop recyclable, partially waste-based, fiber-reinforced composite materials to enable rapid production and easy customization of sports products such as football shoes and ball products. Another condition is that these products can also be recycled repeatedly in chemical and waste-free processes.

With funding from the European Commission (DG Research, Industrial Technology, Materials Unit), the program will also investigate the possibility of automating the various molding processes so that shoe production can be done in one step.

This goal is that sports products should not be discarded, but reused to become a new generation of products. For example, a used football boot can be collected and shredded into small pieces, every gram is reprocessed, sorted through different sources to select similar or alternative waste materials, combine them with virgin materials, and make the fibers Enhanced, used to create new shoes.

The challenge of this project is to maintain a certain level of performance of the material through repeated cycles. BASF said its extensive polymer expertise will play an integral part in the development of new materials and customizations.

"We are delighted to be one of nine highly ranked partners in this program. We are focusing on special new polymers with a wide range of mechanical properties. The goal is to create a recyclable products that can be fine-tuned for various applications and related processes," said Juergen Weiser, Director of Functional Materials Technology at BASF.

These polymers, whether sourced from industry or sportswear waste, will be reengineered as key manufacturing processes for the Sport Infinity program. These production processes utilize nearly every gram of material and generate no waste. In addition, they also enable consumers to customize the shape, color and design of their football boots.

The ultimate goal is to optimize the process to a certain extent, and complete the highly automated production of footwear through a single process step.

Partners in the Sport Infinity program also include special equipment manufacturing, chemical suppliers, fiber and textile finishing plants, and sportswear brands.

"This is a game-changing development for football fans. Over the next three years, Sport Infinity plans to aim to end throwaway football boots. Instead, each pair of boots will be more than just Recycling, but also carefully redesigned into the most personal specifications for consumers." Gerd Manz, vice president of adidas technology innovation, said when he released the initiative last (2015).

Adidas stated that the plan will pilot manufacturing in Ansbach, Oechsler, Germany, Europe, "bringing manufacturing to the origin of design, and more importantly, where consumers are." The next step is customization Products, ranging from modularization in the factory to personalization in the store.

This also ties in with the company's new Speedfactory concept, adidas' massive footwear production initiative set to launch in 2017. This plan includes establishing a global network of Speedfactory modules in major consumer markets around the world.