Ford Contributes to Environmental Sustainability with Soy Foam Seats

In an effort to contribute to environmental conservation, Ford Motors is beginning to incorporate the use of soy –based materials into its vehicles. Ford has been known to dabble in soy – based car materials as early as 1907 with its Model T vehicles. The Model T contained “60 pounds of soybeans in its paint and molded plastic parts”. In 2003, Ford showcased yet another soy infused vehicle in the form of the Model U. This vehicle had “soy – based seat cushions and soy based resin composite tailgates”. But the first large – scale soy – based seat foams are yet to debut in the 2008 Ford Mustang, Ford F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator and the 2009 Ford Escape.

The production of soy – based seat foams is a joint undertaking between Ford, John Deere, a leading manufacturer of agricultural equipment and seat supplier Sears Manufacturing. Ford believes that forging a partnership with these companies will surely bring about environmental benefits. Gerhardt Schmidt, vice president, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering says, “As all of industry faces daunting sustainability challenges, Ford is pioneering renewable solutions and forging strategic partnerships to extend our capabilities and our ability to innovate. We are pleased to collaborate with John Deere to continue the development of soy-based foam and research other technologies to benefit both our industries”. Klaus Hoehn, vice president for advanced technology and engineering of John Deere, shares Ford’s sentiment. He says, “John Deere’s agreement with Ford builds on our shared core values of quality and innovation and our commitment to deliver outstanding products for our customer. Working together will advance our ability to develop far-reaching solutions for a more sustainable future.”

The development of the soy-based car seat technology is spearheaded by the Ford’s Plastics Research team. The team aims to replace around “40 percent of the standard petroleum-based polyol used in seating materials with a soy-derived material”. Soy based material has only one – quarter of the environmental impact that petroleum-based products have. According to Debbie Mielewski, technical leader, Ford Plastics Research, “As we continue to migrate this green technology across many vehicle platforms, we’re improving our environmental footprint by conserving limited resources and reducing carbon dioxide emissions”.

Ford will be patenting their current soy based technology under Ford Global Technologies, LLC. The technology will also be available to non – Ford applications through John Deere.