The research programme focuses on football sporting goods, in particular shoes. In a design-driven approach, the automation potential of various moulding processes will be exploited, potentially enabling the production of a shoe in one step. The goal is a new breed of sporting goods that will not be discarded, but reused. A used football shoe, for instance, could be collected and shredded into tiny pieces, of which every gram is reprocessed, producing no waste. Combined with virgin material and reinforced with selected fibre from similar or alternative waste sources, a new shoe can be manufactured.
The challenge lies in achieving the desired product performance level in a repeated material recycling loop. BASF’s polymer know-how will play an integral part in developing materials and tailoring them to the manufacturing process. Recyclability is a determining parameter in the material selection process.
“We are delighted to join this project” said Juergen Weiser, director Technology, Performance Materials, BASF. “We are focusing on special new polymers with a broad mechanical property range. The goal is to create a recyclable product that can be fine-tuned to a variety of applications and related processes.”
In order to turn this vision into reality, Sport Infinity brings together partners from various disciplines. From specialty equipment manufacturers to processing experts, from major chemical suppliers to fibre and textile processors, from industrial design to knowledge management, as well as the sportswear brand and a football academy partner. Consequently, the project consortium covers the entire value chain to achieve one common goal: sustainable, customisable high performance football sporting goods made in Europe.
