In Germany, cable and wire manufacturer LAPP is using biobased plastic produced by chemicals giant BASF in cable sheathing.
LAPP will be showcasing the ETHERLINE® FD P Cat.5e for Industrial Ethernet, which it claims to be the first ethernet cable to use bioplastic, at the upcoming Hannover Messe industrial tech expo.
“Using plastics from rapidly renewable raw materials with an organic basis is a great way for us to reduce the need for plastics from fossil raw materials and at the same time reduce the carbon footprint of our products,” says Alexander Terpe, Head of Cable Product Development at U.I. Lapp GmbH, said in a press statement.
ETHERLINE® FD P Cat.5e uses Elastollan® N, a 45-60% biobased thermoplastic polyurethane produced by BASF using corn as feedstock. Elastollan® N replaces TPU produced using fossil fuels, reducing the cable’s CO2 footprint by approximately 15%.