Polytan Poligras Paris GT zero for Paris 2024
With Poligras Paris GT zero, Polytan presents the world’s first carbon-neutral synthetic turf for field hockey. It has been developed specially for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where the world’s best teams will compete. Poligras Paris GT zero is 100% climate-neutral, without compromising on playing characteristics. This is made possible by a combination of different factors, including a new manufacturing process and the use of sustainably farmed, organically based synthetic materials.
The Olympic Games are something to aspire to – not only athletically, but in terms of technical progress as well. That’s why, with Poligras Paris GT zero, Polytan has developed a new and improved successor to its Poligras Tokyo GT, which is used in all leading hockey nations around the world. Poligras Paris GT zero will help Paris meet its self-declared environmental goals, while setting new standards in playing quality and environmental friendliness.
During the manufacture of the turf fibres, fossil-fuel-based polyethylene is replaced with organically based polyethylene. The I’m Green™ polyethylene is an organic plastic made by Braskem, the world’s largest producer of organically based polyethylene. The material for the carbon-neutral hockey turf is manufactured using a by-product of sugar cane processing in Brazil. In the production process for I’m Green™ polyethylene, the first two pressings of the sugar cane are used for sugar production. The third – which is no longer useful for this purpose – is used as a raw material for organic polyethylene, which makes up approximately 80% of Poligras Paris GT zero. This saves around 73 tons of CO2 compared to a conventional synthetic turf.
Less water consumption, thanks to Turf Glide
A major component in maximising the sustainability of Poligras Paris GT zero is the permanently improved product design, which consumes less water than before. For example, the synthetic turf used at the Olympic Games in Tokyo consumed 39% less water than the turf used in Rio only four years earlier. Polytan Paris GT zero takes this development even further with the introduction of Turf Glide, a new, patent-protected technology that reduces surface friction so that even less water is needed to reduce friction resistance and minimise the risk of injury.
A leap forward in field hockey development
Paul Kamphuis, Global Head of the Sport Group’s hockey business responsible for the implementation of hockey projects around the world, including Project Paris 2024, summarises: “Having developed turfs for eight Olympic Games, we have seen how the Olympic turf sets the standard for innovation. Poligras Tokyo GT turf, with over 50 installations, was extremely popular and demonstrated that the hockey community is choosing a more sustainable future for their sport. Poligras Paris GT zero takes this commitment to another level. It will make carbon-zero hockey a reality, not just for Paris, but for clubs, colleges and communities all over the world.”
In October 2022, Polytan installed its first Poligras Paris GT zero hockey turf at the renowned Hamburger Polo Club e.V., whose men’s team plays in the 1st Bundesliga. In future, it will be used both by the professional Bundesliga players and by youth teams.
