Tekmar : Covestro and Tekmar Group explore more sustainable materials for Cable Protection Systems

The growing offshore wind farm market requires a sustainable value chain capable of delivering robust and long-lasting subsea infrastructure whilst reducing the industry's environmental impact. To achieve this, the offshore industry is urgently seeking renewable materials matching their high-performance requirements from the supply chain.

Covestro and Tekmar Group have embraced this challenge and are collaborating to develop more sustainable subsea products by leveraging each other's expertise in their respective fields. Covestro Elastomers develops cast elastomer systems to provide solutions for the offshore energy market. Tekmar is a leading producer of polyurethane-based cable protection systems for the global offshore energy markets.

A key component of the cable protection system is the bend restrictor, which along with the rest of the system, is designed to protect cables in the ocean for decades. So, what about an alternative polyurethane elastomer system for the more sustainable casting of these products?

One of the major challenges is the reconciliation of sustainability and technical performance, without any compromise on quality. To solve this, Covestro has developed a new polyurethane elastomer system based on its CO₂ Technology, now called Triturn^®, which positively contributes to reducing the products´ carbon footprint.

The new system for bend restrictors from Covestro, which was recently honored with the UTECH Europe Award 2021 in the CASE category (CASE stands for coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers), allows to reuse CO₂ as a valuable material source in polyol production and to reduce up to 20 percent of the fossil raw materials which is normally used for the polyol. The new system also makes significant technical gains by being easier to process and improving non-aging properties in saltwater. Tekmar is using the new PU system to manufacture sample products at its facility in the North East of England and is currently conducting a range of tests on the products.

Marc Bell, Managing Director at Tekmar Energy, says: "Tekmar is committed to developing more sustainable solutions for the offshore energy markets. Working with Covestro enables us to explore alternative solutions which we can share with our customers to support their transition to cleaner energy and net-zero emission targets".

Through a long-term collaboration, Covestro and Tekmar are proactively shaping the subsea protection industry by introducing an alternative and more sustainable solution to move the offshore industry forward.