The first time the blog has heard about BASF’s integrated biomass-based chemical manufacture approach was in late 2013, and since then, the company has steadily increased its chemicals portfolio under this category.

This month, BASF’s Coatings division announced the launch of its new Glasurit® and R-M® refinish paint product lines in Europe for automotive refinishing application. BASF claims the products to be the world’s first refinish products manufactured according to the certified biomass balance approach.

For the biomass balance approach, parts of the fossil resources are replaced by renewable resources, such as bio-naphtha or biogas from organic waste or vegetable oils, already at the beginning of the production process. This share of biomass is mathematically allocated to the new product line for automotive refinish products according to a method certified by the German Technical Supervisory Association TÜV SÜD.

You can actually watch BASF’s animated explanation of this approach on the video below.

As the biomass balance approach already permits renewable resources to be used at the start of chemical production, by applying this calculative model, 100% of the fossil resources can be replaced with renewable resources. At the same time, BASF said its customers will not experience any changes with respect to quality or application.

Customers will reportedly have the opportunity to stand out from the competition by promoting more CO2 savings and making a conscious contribution to environmental protection. The biomass balance approach, used by various BASF divisions, is reportedly comparable to the green energy tariff since the power that comes from the socket is not necessarily generated from renewable sources. What is much more important is that the total proportion of renewable sources in the system adds up and that it is mathematically correctly allocated to the certified commercial products.

What do you think about this approach? From what I heard the premiums are also high for these type of products. I guess certification does not come cheap. I wonder if the bio-based content is also calculated and given to customers since some of these products, the renewable content could be negligible compared to say using bio-based acrylic acid in the same paints.