Ford Develops the Industry's First Soy-Based Polyurethane Foam
Ford Motor Company has announced the creation of environmentally friendly polyurethane foam composed of 40% soy, which will debut in the 2008 Mustang.

The new foam, which is used in the manufacturing of a vehicle’s seat cushions, seat backs, armrests and head restraints, has several economic and environmental benefits.

Initial projections estimate that using soy-based polyurethane will yield a savings of $26 million in material goods and could result in a 75% reduction in environmental impact.

“Soy is a very green, renewable resource,” says Debbie Mielewski, technical leader for Ford’s Materials Research & Advanced Engineering Department. “Using a soy-based foam gives us the opportunity to conserve natural resources and reduce our environmental footprint.”

Most automotive manufacturers today use 100 percent petroleum-based polyol polyurethane foam. Per year, the U.S. market for this material is 3 billion pounds, with demand reaching 9 billion pounds worldwide. Mielewski estimates an average of 30 pounds of petroleum-based foam is used in every vehicle produced – with Ford’s production totaling 6.6 million vehicles in 2006, that amounts to roughly 99,000 tons of foam used by the company on a yearly basis.

Ford, partnering with the United Soybean Board (USB), has indicated it intends to further investigate future soy usage. Todd Allen of the USB states that “We believe that when the first soy foams are introduced on Ford vehicles, it will have a snowball effect on the usage of soy polyols by other industries such as agriculture equipment, recreational vehicles, office furniture cushioning and other automotive components.”

Soy-based production requires less energy to produce and results in reduced carbon-dioxide emissions. In an industry that utilizes 9 billion pounds of foam every year, these environmental advantages speak for themselves.