Dow launches bio-based Nordel REN EPDM at DKT 2024

Wiesbaden, Germany – Dow announced at the German Rubber Conference (DKT) 2024 the launch of NORDEL™ REN Ethylene Propylene Diene Terpolymers (EPDM), a bio-based version of Dow’s EPDM rubber material that goes into automotive, infrastructure, and consumer applications.

A key component of automotive weatherseals and hoses, Dow aims to support not just the automotive industry in achieving its sustainability goals with the launch of NORDEL™ REN EPDM, but as EPDM also goes into building profiles, roofing membranes, wire, and cable, among others, NORDEL™ REN EPDM can help the decarbonization of building and construction and more.

“At Dow, we recognize the necessity to support our customers in their decarbonization journeys, as we drive towards our own carbon neutrality,” said Zshelyz Lee, Global Automotive Plastics Circularity Team Leader. “With our commitment to deliver 3 million metric tons 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.”
By using bio residues from other industries as 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 by-products from an alternative production process are utilized, these raw feedstock materials will not consume extra land resources nor compete with the food chain.

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.