Sonnenwagen competes with more sustainable sportswear
Team Sonnenwagen is preparing for the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. This year, we renewed our partnership with textile manufacturers Huafeng and Cyclone to equip the team with even more sustainable sportswear. The new kit is made from partly recycled materials and Huafeng’s HAPTIC® coating, which is formulated with our partly bio-based INSQIN® PU dispersions. Together, we aim to reduce the team’s CO₂ footprint and support their mission of pioneering more sustainable mobility solutions.
To meet demand for more sustainable and customizable clothing, textile manufacturers want to reduce the environmental impact of their products without sacrificing performance or style.
Recently, many shifted from solvent-based to water-based coatings to lower their carbon footprint. To go further and meet the growing demand for more sustainable textile products, which is driven by both consumers and legislation, manufacturers now aim to make products using partly recycled and partly biobased materials while also reducing carbon emissions in their production processes. However, adopting these solutions quickly and effectively is often challenging and complex.
"By using partly bio-based Impranil® CQ solutions from Covestro, we’re pioneering more sustainable textiles with innovations such as HAPTIC® Art ink. This ink formulation delivers a reduced CO₂ footprint, offers extensive customizability, and can be used in high-performance textiles like sportwear.”
At Covestro, we’re helping textile manufacturers lower their environmental impact by supporting industry adoption of alternative raw materials. For example, our partly biobased Impranil® CQ DLS/1 dispersion, part of our INSQIN® range, has a 38% lower carbon footprint versus conventional product grades* and can be used in a variety of applications. This year, Huafeng chose our solution for a second time when creating Team Sonnenwagen Aachen’s sports kit for the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.
To give Team Sonnenwagen a distinctive look on the racetrack, Huafeng applied its HAPTIC® ink coating, created using Impranil® CQ, to their kit through a screen printing process. Additionally, Huafeng painted stunning 3D designs from local artists on the team’s shoes using its HAPTIC® Art ink. This proprietary ink is also based on Impranil® CQ DLS/1 resin, and the final dried ink consists of approximately 50% bio-based material. Due to its high solids content and thixotropic properties, this textile coating supports thick applications, making it ideal for the 3D designs on Team Sonnenwagen’s shoes.
Huafeng’s decision to use our partly bio-based INSQIN® dispersions is just one of many smart design choices aimed at enhancing the environmental sustainability of Team Sonnenwagen’s trousers, shoes, and shorts. For example, the shoe uppers are also made from 100% rPET yarns manufactured by Cyclone, Huafeng’s yarn partner.
Cyclone produced its rPET yarns from recycled PET bottles collected throughout southern China. Huafeng also opted for a lighter shoe design that required no extra lining, resulting in a reduction of approximately 30% in the weight of polyester used. As well as enhancing material efficiency through this design choice, Huafeng created the shoes using knitting machines powered by up to 50% solar energy sourced from rooftop panels.*
Similarly, Huafeng created the solar racing team’s shorts and trousers using a blend of Cyclone rPET fabrics and elastic yarns for added comfort. Cyclone also used a dope-dyeing process for all of its rPET yarns, reducing energy consumption by 57%, water usage by 77%, and achieving 51% lower CO₂ emissions compared to conventional dyeing methods.** Together, the HAPTIC® ink system and rPET yarns help achieve a significantly reduced carbon footprint.
Through our collaboration with Huafeng and Cyclone, we're helping to lead a new movement in sportswear that showcases the potential of manufacturing innovation and more sustainable coated textile solutions. By adopting partly bio-based raw materials, we’re working to reduce our environmental impact and inspire the industry to rethink what's possible. Together, Covestro, Cyclone and Huafeng demonstrate that creating more sustainable sportswear doesn’t have to mean compromising on performance or style.
*According to internal calculations.
**SGS report 2021 (Cyclone).
“Our official 2025 equipment looks awesome! We love that it’s made from partly recycled and biobased materials. We're proud to race with the support of Huafeng, Cyclone and Covestro as they really care about sustainability, just like us!”
Key benefits
- Partly bio-based: Using Impranil® CQ PU materials reduces reliance on fossil-based resources.
- Lower CO₂ footprint: Impranil® CQ DLS/1 has a 38% lower carbon footprint compared to standard grades.
- Customizable: HAPTIC® ink can be used to apply a range of stunning 3D designs to textiles.
- High performance Good flexibility, adhesion, and resistance to hydrolysis, washing, and abrasion.
- Waterborne: Reduced emissions for improved environmental and worker safety.
“We're delighted that Impranil® CQ is part of Huafeng’s innovative textile coating solutions. This demonstrates the rich potential for sportswear manufacturers to design customized products with a reduced carbon footprint.”
