Without CO2 in your Luggage: New bike backpack from VAUDE with innovative polyamide from BASF

 New product is based on BASF's ^Ultramid® ZeroPCF, a sustainable polyamide with a net-zero_{CO2 footprint}

 Use of renewable energies and alternative raw materials

 Showpiece backpack wins Eurobike Green Award 2025 in Frankfurt

Together with the chemical company BASF, VAUDE has had a special TRAILCONTROL ZERO PCF 20+ mountain bike backpack produced as a showpiece for the Eurobike 2025 bike trade fair. The special feature: VAUDE uses BASF's innovative Ultramid® ZeroPCF, a polyamide (PA) 6 with a CO2 footprint (Product Carbon Footprint, PCF) of zero, to produce the backpack. The backpack was awarded the Eurobike Green Award as a special innovation in the field of climate protection due to the transparent CO2 reduction in material production.

For the production of Ultramid ZeroPCF, BASF uses renewable electricity from the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm and allocates biomethane and bio-based naphtha from used cooking oil instead of fossil raw materials. The methodology follows an ISCC+ certified mass balance approach. The mass-balanced product has the same properties as the conventional product, but outperforms it in terms of sustainability. "Through all these measures and the benefits we derive from the efficient production methods of our BASF Verbund, we are reducing the CO2 footprint of the polyamide to zero," says Marcel Schmitt, Global Strategic Marketing, Polyamide 6 at BASF.

"With this flagship project, we want to stimulate discussions about how materials with a zero carbon footprint can contribute to climate neutrality," adds René Bethmann, Senior Material Innovation Manager at VAUDE. As part of its science-based NetZero strategy, VAUDE has set itself ambitious climate targets. Among other things, VAUDE is committed to reducing absolute Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions from purchased goods and services by 50% by 2030 compared to the base year 2019.

BASF had already announced the expansion of its polyamide product portfolio to include Ultramid LowPCF and Ultramid ZeroPCF variants in October 2024. The VAUDE bike backpack is now the first product to use Ultramid ZeroPCF. The expansion of the Ultramid portfolio is a further step in the sustainable journey of BASF's Monomers division, which has already developed a circular or PCF-reduced option for every major product line. The division's more sustainable offerings are an essential part of BASF's path to climate neutrality and net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

For more information on Ultramid ZeroPCF, please visit BASF's dedicated website.