Flax fiber skis, biobased turf for 2020 Olympics, Gevo’s isoprene, Veja vegan leather, castor oil jacket membrane and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of February 8th

#2 2020 Olympics will feature biobased turf

In Tokyo, the 2020 Olympic Games will use biobased polyethylene produced by Braskem in its field hockey turf.

Turf maker Polytan says 60% of the Poligras turf will be made with biobased filaments. An elastic base layer ensures optimum absorption while a low-CO2 binder ensures permanent binding. The field will also require just a third of the water as previous surfaces used in Olympic games. The Tokyo Games have set a target of being the first-ever carbon neutral Olympics.

“FIH [International Hockey Federation] is delighted that this new turf technology will support Tokyo’s carbon-neutral vision and make a positive contribution to the Games… FIH firmly believes that hockey can contribute to a more sustainable environment by making use of all the technological possibilities modern turf offers,” says FIH CEO Thierry Weil.

Braskem’s biobased polyethylene is produced using ethanol derived from sugarcane. More on the story, here.