Covestro and Recticel Collaborate For Low-Carbon Insulation

Covestro and Recticel formed a partnership to supply circular insulation materials to the Circular House of Brightlands Circular Space in Sittard-Geleen. The construction project aims to highlight how circular, low-carbon construction can be achieved at scale, reducing the environmental footprint of modern buildings. Recticel is using Covestro’s Desmodur CQ MS to make Eurothane Silver Impact PU insulation boards, which are being used to insulate the house’s roof. Desmodur CQ MS is based on climate-neutral MDI produced using mass-balanced bio-circular feedstocks. As a result, the boards contain 43% less embodied carbon than standard boards, while maintaining both technical and thermal performance.

“The construction sector is responsible for about 37% of global CO₂ emissions, with around a quarter stemming from embodied carbon, [including] emissions associated with the building materials before a building is even in use,” said Fernando Resende, Covestro’s marketing manager for building & construction in EMEA and LATAM. “This urgently needs to change. Through our collaboration with Recticel, we’re able to offer a compelling alternative.”

The 7500-meter Circular House will be a living lab for demonstrating, co-creating, and piloting zero-waste plastic technologies. Sustainable design is integrated throughout, with materials selected to reduce both operational and embodied carbon.

“In the Circular House, we chose insulation boards that incorporate more sustainable raw materials, meeting both performance and sustainability requirements,” said Lia Voermans, who chairs the steering board of Brightlands Circular Space. “This way, we apply the same circular principles driving Brightlands Circular Space by embedding them into the design of our demonstration facility for circular plastics, showing how circular and low-carbon materials can be integrated into real-world building projects.”

Source: Covestro