Power2Polymers – More sustainable polymers for the chemical industry
The start-up Power2Polymers from Germany found a way to create more sustainable and high-performance polymer products for specialty applications, such as lubricants, industrial adhesives, and coatings for broad applications ranging from wood furniture to electronics to automotive.
Power2Polymers key innovation is the integration of a known building block into novel polymers: so-called POM - a versatile and stable, but inert component. Power2Polymers managed to integrate this promising component into polymers, turning it into a liquid state. These upgraded polymers prove performance benefits, as well as better material compatibility. Furthermore, they present a realistic alternative to conventional PFAS – harmful, long-lasting chemicals conventionally used in high-performance applications, and a promising solution to reduce the carbon footprint of polymer products significantly.
For these reasons, Power2Polymers has been chosen as one of the ISC3 Innovation Challenge finalists 2025, and now featured by the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre as ISC3 Start-up of the Month for October 2025.
Power2Polymers uses a patented process integrating POM into base polyols, enabling to get the properties of POM, which is already used widely in the industry, in a liquid form. It was previously not possible to integrate POM into polyols. POM-polyols can be used for follow-on products with product-dependent enhanced properties. For industrial adhesives these advantages include, by example, shorter drying times, better material compatibility and better recyclability. The resulting materials are, additionally, more sustainable in comparison to industry benchmarks. This is mainly because raw materials are used, that are less carbon intensive since they derive from renewable sources, mainly via methanol, which in turn is produced from CO2 and hydrogen or biomass. Thus, the resulting carbon footprint reduction of the materials is up to 60% compared to conventional polypropylene glycols (the current alternative to POM-polyols).
Furthermore, the implementation of the production of the novel polymer does not require a carbon-costly investment, as it can be integrated into existing value chains, which is a tremendous advantage towards commercialization.
The whole success story of the ISC3 Start-up of the Month in October 2025 is currently told by the ISC3 on its website at Power2Polymers (isc3.org).
Three questions for Guido Schroer (Co-founder & CEO of Power2Polymers):
What led to your solution in Sustainable Chemistry?
Guido Schroer: For me personally, Power2Polymers was a chance to prove that we can continue to innovate and advance Made-in-Germany sustainable technologies in the chemical industry — even when the circumstances are tough.
What does being chosen as ISC3 Innovation Challenge finalist and ISC3 Start-up of the Month mean to you?
G. Schroer: It is a high honour and great opportunity to highlight and demonstrate our innovation to a broader audience, which is interested in novel sustainable material alternatives. We are always openly looking for partners who are interested in developing novel materials together.
What’s next up at Power2Polymers?
G. Schroer: Future and next steps include the expansion of our product portfolio towards more grades of POM-polyols, e.g. higher molecular weights, as well as additional products, e.g., functionalized short-chain POM-containing polymer building blocks like sustainable epoxides and diisocyanates. Further fields include scaling, internationalization and moving from specialty products also towards commodities to implement carbon footprint reduction in a wider range of products.
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