Moving toward Carbon-Negative Automobiles: Incorporating Lignin in Automotive Parts on Commercial Scale

Project Lead: Woodbridge Foam Corporation

Consortium Members: Woodbridge Foam Corporation, Michigan State University (Prof. Mojgan Nejad), West Fraser, Fortum Bio2X, Sweetwater Energy Inc, and Ford Motor Company.

Project Goal

This project aims to increase the commercial readiness of lignin-containing polymers by scaling up the production of lignin-based polyurethane (PU) flexible foams to move toward carbon-negative cars.

The consortium will achieve this by the end of May 2023:

• Formulating liquid lignin-polyol (MSU) using technical lignins produced by Fortum Bio2X (organosolv wheat straw), Sweetwater (hydrolysis hardwood), and West Fraser (kraft softwood)
• Using formulated liquid lignin-polyol to partially replace petroleum-based polyol in the formulation of PU flexible foam (Woodbridge)
• Scale up the production of lignin-containing PU flexible foams (Woodbridge) and test them in the manufacturing line of Ford
• Communicating the outcomes of this project via conferences, technical reports, journal papers, industry meetings, and social media

Consortium Members: