GERMANY – Ludwigshafen-based chemical company BASF has forged a partnership deal with Avient to introduce colored grades of Ultrason® high-performance polymers to the global market.

The collaboration combines BASF’s Ultrason® polyarylethersulfones (PAES) as the base polymer with Avient’s Colorant Chromatics™ expertise in high-temperature color formulations.

This collaboration will provide comprehensive technical support and enable customers in various industries to meet design trends, technical requirements, and color standards more efficiently.

The colored Ultrason® polymers also promote a sustainable lifestyle by facilitating the creation of reusable and visually appealing household and catering articles.

Avient will formulate and market the colored grades as Colorant Chromatics™ made with Ultrason® by BASF.

According to BASF, the portfolio will also contribute to a circular economy system by minimizing packaging waste and avoiding the circulation of single-use plastics, which otherwise is seen in traditional catering and takeaway products.

Florian Hennenberger, of BASF’s Ultrason global business development said: “By working together, we can now offer customized colors with Ultrason as a base material to existing and new customers.

“By combining the global networks of both companies with the color formulation expertise of Avient and the broad material competency and portfolio of BASF, this collaboration will lead to smoother and less complex product development for our customers.”

Avient Colorant Chromatics’ general manager Anne Hippert added: “The market requirements for colored, high-performance polymers are clear: you have to react quickly and also be able to supply various volumes of colored material.

“Together, we are committed to bringing innovative PAES to the market, meeting color challenges across multiple industries, including the household and food industry, where we see the use of Ultrason as a perfect fit for our customers’ sustainability efforts by promoting appealing colors for reusable and safe applications.”

BASF Venture Capital invests in Swiss startup DePoly

Elsewhere, BASF Venture Capital GmbH (BVC), the corporate venture company of the BASF Group has announced an investment in the Swiss startup DePoly SA (DePoly), a plastic solutions provider developing chemical recycling technology.

DePoly has developed a chemical recycling technology that converts mixed post-consumer and post-industrial polyester plastic waste streams, as well as polyester-containing fabrics and fibers, back into their precursors at virgin-grade quality.

BASF claims this process is energy efficient as it operates at room temperature and standard pressure without the need for pre-sorting, pre-washing, or removal of contaminant materials.

BVC co-led DePoly’s CHF12.3M seed financing round along with Wingman Ventures, with the participation of Beiersdorf, Infinity Recycling, CIECH Ventures, Angel Invest and others.

The proceeds of the financing round will enable DePoly to accelerate the scale-up and development of its depolymerization process, leading to the building of a demonstration plant expected to be operational in 2024.

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