US rubber lab, Singapore firm in sustainability link-up 

Ravenna, Ohio -  ACE Laboratories and Advanced Sustainable Polymers Pte Ltd (ASP) of Singapore have agreed to jointly develop sustainable materials for use in elastomer and asphalt applications. 

Under a strategic collaboration, US-based ACE and ASP are to work together to develop and qualify materials for commercial applications that help manufacturers to meet their sustainability goals.

Target materials include “recycled polymers, bio-based polymers and other elastomeric materials manufactured in carbon neutral processes,” said their recently issued joint announcement.

Among other aspects of the deal, ASP will provide its US partner with access to tire-derived polymers, manufactured via the Tyromer process.

For its part, rubber testing and development firm ACE will conduct studies and analyses of sustainable materials in a range of polymer applications.

The Ravenna-based laboratory will also support ASP with the commercialisation of these materials in “asphalt and non-tire” applications. 

ASP is focused on technologies that reduce supply-chain carbon emissions and price volatility within the global polymer industry. 

The Singapore company was founded by Robert Meyer, co-founder and former chairman and CEO of global natural rubber supplier Halcyon Agri. 

“The future of reliable and cost-efficient polymer supply chains lies in a combination of virgin materials from sustainable origins, and recycled materials,” Meyers said in the joint statement. 

ACE founder & CEO Erick Sharp added that the partners would “accelerate the development of new technologies and materials that will provide sustainable and real circular solutions for the industry.”