1. Greening the Blue Oval: Sustainable Materials for Automotive Components Cynthia Flanigan,PhD Global Manager, Design & Final Assembly Systems Research and Advanced Engineering Ford Motor Company

2. Ford’s Rich History in Bio-Materials
1937 Ford was producing 300,000 gallons of soy oil a year for use in car enamels (Soybean Digest 1947).
1939 the Ford Motor Company was harvesting about 100,000 bushels of its own soybeans
The "Soybean Car" was unveiled by Henry Ford on August 13, 1941
‘Fordite’ material used in steering wheels contained wheat straw
Henry Ford and his researchers were America's foremost soybean and soy food pioneers in the 30s and early 40s. Ford's name was always closely linked with soybeans, for he developed a host of new ways to use the crop industrially.
He truly believed in this concept – as we read this great quote from him. “Someday you and I will see the day when auto bodies will be grown down on the farm.”
By 1935 a bushel (60 pounds) of soy beans went into the paint and molded plastic parts of every Ford car.
On 12 October 1936 Time magazine stated: "The No. 1 U.S. soybean man is Henry Ford.“
Then in 1941 Henry Ford unveiled his “Soybean Car” as shown in the picture here. This car had 14 body plastic composite panels made from soy.
Ford also developed a material called “Fordite” which contained wheat straw. Many of the materials we are using today in Ford products first started with Henry Ford himself.

3. Our vision for the 21st century is to provide SUSTAINABLE transportation that is affordable in every sense of the word:
Environmental
Economic
Sustainable mobility is a key objective for Ford Motor Company, since we’ve been enabling mobility over one hundred years through the cars and trucks we manufacture. Sustainable mobility is really about meeting the needs of today without compromising the future.
When we consider sustainable mobility, we look at three principle factors:
One is Financial – we have to make profit to satisfy our shareholders, make product investments, and produce our products.
Recently, we’ve made a lot of progress here, but this is a subject for another day…
Another is Social – we have to contribute to society as a whole. This includes such items as product safety, human rights, emerging markets and working conditions.
I will spend some of my time today on the social aspects of sustainability.
The third factor is Environmental stewardship. Key factors here include addressing energy security and reducing greenhouse gases from our products and processes
Social
…while the automobile provided tremendous benefits to mankind in the 20th century, “it also had a major negative impact on the environment. To be considered a leader in corporate citizenship, an automobile company must demonstrate leadership in addressing environmental concerns.”
- Bill Ford 3

4. Bio-Materials: Why Now?
Increased use of renewable feed stocks and agricultural products
Increased use of recycled or waste by-products
Reduce dependence on foreign petroleum
Improved material life cycle
Improved performance in select functions
Increased consumer awareness
Fast forward to 60 years later when I became team leader of the plastics research group…

5. Soy-Based Foam Can we use oil from soybeans to make seats?
Technology Overview: Use of soy polyol in formulating flexible polyurethane foam for automotive applications.

6. Applications Over 30 lbs of foam per vehicle
Headliner
Head Rest
Instrument panel
Arm Rest
Seat Cushion
Also rigid foam applications: package tray, energy absorption
Seat Back

7. What is Soy-Based Foam?

8. One of the first soy-based foams!

9. Key Technical Challenges
Formulations:
Optimizing formulation for levels of soy used
Balancing gel/blow reactions for soy formulation
Blend stability between bio-polyol and petroleum-polyol
Odor:
Odor of blown soy oil and resulting foam
Properties:
Passing material specifications
Meeting performance and plant requirements

10. Optimized Polyurethane Foam
Soy-Based Foam
Petroleum Foam
Similar appearance in microstructure
Open celled foams, as desired for seating foam

11. Soy Foam Journey
Completed MDI trials & testing with Lear & Bayer
Component approval; Processing Evaluation completed
Model U concept vehicle
Materials Engineering approval TDI
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
R&A initiates research project on soy foam
United Soybean Board awards R&A 3yr. $230k grant
Completed TDI trials & testing with Lear & Renesol
Press release on Mustang soy foam seats

12. Implementation of Soy Foam on 2008 Mustang
Seat supplier: Lear Corporation Applications: seat cushion & back
Times Square, New York, July 2007

13. Ford Press and Awards
This soy-based foam technology has been well recognized in the press and has received several prestigious awards including the R&D 100 award and the USB New Uses Award.
2008 Henry Ford Technology Award
"The Excellence in New Uses Award" by the New Uses Committee, United Soybean Board, Tampa, Florida, February 2007.
“Plastic Materials from Renewable Resources Award” by the SPE Global Plastics Environmental Conference to Ford and Lear Corporation, March 2008.
“Environmental Excellence in Transportation, E2T, Award” by SAE International to Ford and Lear Corporation, May 2008.
“SPE Innovation Award in Environmental Category” by SPE Automotive to Ford and Lear Corporation, November 2008.

14. Success: Soy Foam Migration
Status: Ford is leader in technology and first OEM to launch in production; migration to other non-automotive applications
Soy foam headliner
all vehicle platforms in North America with soy foam seats
75% of vehicle platforms in N.A. with soy foam headrests
Ford Escape: soy foam headliner
Soy foam + 25% recycled tires for gaskets in 14 vehicle platforms
diverts >5 million lb petroleum annually
reduces CO2 emissions by >20 million lb annually
This project focused on formulation of flexible polyurethane foam for seating applications. We launched the technology in 2007 on the Ford Mustang, saving 0.6 million lbs of CO2 per year. In 2008, we were saving over 5 million lbs annually.
Gaskets and Seals compounded from recycled tires and soy
Used 2.2 million pounds of rubber from recycling 210,000 tires, and 150,000 pounds of soy.
Lighter weight than the prior gaskets
Soy foam + recycled tire gaskets
Soy foam seats

15. Success: Soy Foam impact
There are 31,251 soybeans used in a typical Ford vehicle for seat cushions and backs
CO2 Emissions Reduction