Floreon Therma-Tech: The UL94 V-0 Plant-Based Flame-Retardant Polymer Reducing Carbon Footprint in Electronic Manufacturing

Alison Evans
16 hours ago
6 min read

Floreon Therma-Tech material being used as a comparative material to FR-ABS plastic and showing the savings in tonnes of carbon by using it — Comparing traditional plastics to Floreon Therma-Tech, a plant based bioplastic developed for electrical products with a low carbon footprint and a UL94 V-0 rating

The electronics industry is facing a fundamental challenge, manufacturers are under increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability, while still meeting strict safety, performance, and regulatory requirements. Governments, regulators, retailers and consumers are all demanding measurable environmental improvements, but without compromising product reliability, durability, or cost competitiveness.

For decades, electrical housings and casings have relied heavily on petroleum-based polymers, including: Flame-Retardant ABS (FR-ABS), Flame-Retardant Polycarbonate (FR-PC) & Flame-Retardant HIPS (FR-HIPS).

These traditional plastics provide strong mechanical performance and fire safety, but they also come with a significant environmental cost.

High carbon emissions, fossil-fuel feedstocks, and limited circular end-of-life options mean that traditional plastics are becoming increasingly difficult to justify in a world moving rapidly toward net-zero manufacturing.

This is where Floreon Therma-Tech® offers a compelling alternative. Floreon Therma-Tech is a UL94 V-0 rated, halogen-free, plant-based flame-retardant polymer engineered for high performance products such as electrical and electronic products. Our material is designed as a drop-in replacement for conventional petroleum-based plastics, while delivering dramatic reductions in carbon footprint.

The result is a material that allows manufacturers to meet sustainability targets, improve ESG reporting and significantly reduce emissions, without redesigning products or compromising performance.

The Industry Challenge: Performance vs Sustainability

Electrical housings are not simple plastic components. They must meet stringent safety and engineering requirements, including:

Flame retardancy and fire safety
Mechanical strength and durability
Thermal stability
Electrical insulation performance
Compatibility with high-volume manufacturing processes

Because of these requirements, petroleum-based polymers have historically dominated the industry. However, they also present clear environmental drawbacks:

High carbon emissions during production
Dependence on fossil-fuel feedstocks
Potentially toxic combustion by-products
Limited circular economy pathways

As sustainability regulations tighten and global brands commit to net-zero and ESG targets, manufacturers must find materials that deliver both high performance and environmental responsibility.

This is precisely the gap Floreon Therma-Tech was developed to fill.

What is Floreon Therma-Tech?

Floreon Therma-Tech is a plant-based polymer that is flame-retardant material (UL94V-0 rated) engineered for high-performance electrical and electronics applications with up to 7 times carbon footprint reduction.

It combines a range of characteristics that are rarely achieved together in a single polymer system:

UL94 V-0 flame retardancy
Halogen-free formulation
Mechanical strength comparable to ABS
Lower processing temperatures
Renewable plant-based feedstocks
Dramatically reduced carbon footprint

Many bio-plastics struggle to meet the durability and safety requirements needed for electrical components. Therma-Tech was specifically designed to overcome these limitations.

Typical applications include:

Mobile phone chargers
Power banks
Electrical housings
Consumer electronics casings
Electrical accessories
Power adapters
Smart home products

These products require both high safety performance and efficient manufacturing, making them ideal applications for Floreon Therma-Tech.

Comparing Floreon Therma-Tech with Conventional Polymers / Plastics

Electrical casings and housings today are commonly manufactured from materials such as FR-ABS, recycled FR-ABS, FR-PC and FR-HIPS. When Floreon Therma-Tech is compared across key engineering and sustainability metrics, the results are impressive.

Mechanical Performance

Strength is a critical requirement for electrical housings, which must withstand drops, impacts and long-term use.

FR-ABS: Industry benchmark
FR-PC: Higher strength than ABS
FR-HIPS: Lower strength than ABS
Therma-Tech: Comparable to ABS

This means manufacturers can transition to Therma-Tech without compromising structural integrity or durability.

Toxicity and Safety

Traditional petroleum plastics can release harmful substances during combustion or at end-of-life disposal. Floreon Therma-Tech was engineered to significantly improve safety in this area.

Polymer Type:	FR-ABS	Recycled FR-ABS	FR-PC	FR-HIPS	Floreon Therma-Tech
Burn toxicity	No (toxic)	No (toxic)	No (toxic)	No (toxic)	Yes (non-toxic)
Contact toxicity	No (toxic)	No (toxic)	Yes (non-toxic)	No (toxic)	Yes (non-toxic)
End-of-life toxicity	No (toxic)	No (toxic)	Yes (non-toxic)	No (toxic)	Yes (non-toxic)

The above chart shows the toxicity of Floreon Therma-Tech compared with petroleum based polymers/plastics.

Carbon Footprint Reduction: Up to 7× Lower

Perhaps the most powerful advantage of Floreon Therma-Tech is its environmental performance. Compared to petroleum-based plastics, the material can achieve up to seven-times reduction in its carbon footprint.

A mobile phone wall charger made with Floreon Therma-Tech material showing the carbon footprint saving

To demonstrate the scale of this impact, Floreon analysed the carbon footprint of a typical mobile phone charger housing*.

Material	Total CO₂e
FR-ABS	8.75 tonnes CO₂e
Floreon Therma-Tech	0.81 tonnes CO₂e

Carbon Saving

Switching the polymer used in the charger housing alone results in a saving of:

7.94 tonnes of CO₂

For manufacturers producing millions of electrical products each year, the carbon reduction potential becomes extremely significant.

Comparing Floreon Therma-Tech against ABS plastic for: Polyner Mass, Emissions & C02 shown in bar charts

*Example Calculation of a typical mobile phone charger

Production volume: 100,000 chargers

Housing mass: 40 g per unit

Total polymer mass: 2,800 kg

*Emission factors of a typical mobile phone charger

FR-ABS: 3.125 kg CO₂e/kg

Therma-Tech: 0.29 kg CO₂e/kg

Energy Savings During Manufacturing

Sustainability improvements are not limited to the final product.

Floreon Therma-Tech also reduces energy consumption during the manufacturing process itself.

Lower Processing Temperatures

Compared with traditional polymers:

FR-ABS replacement: processing temperatures reduced by ~40°C
FR-PC replacement: processing temperatures reduced by ~100°C

Lower temperatures lead to several manufacturing advantages:

Reduced energy consumption
Lower manufacturing emissions
Improved mould cycle efficiency
Reduced thermal stress on tooling

For applications replacing FR-PC, mould cycle times can also be reduced by approximately 10 percent, further improving production efficiency.

A Drop-In Polymer Replacement with No Manufacturing Changes

One of the biggest barriers to adopting sustainable materials is the need to redesign products or modify production lines. Floreon Therma-Tech removes this barrier entirely. The material is engineered as a drop-in solution that integrates seamlessly into existing manufacturing systems.

Manufacturers do not require:

New tooling
New injection moulding equipment
Additional capital investment

Therma-Tech can be processed using standard polymer manufacturing methods, including:

Injection moulding
Sheet extrusion
Profile extrusion
Blow moulding
Thermoforming
Rotational moulding
3D printing

This makes the transition to a more sustainable material fast, practical and cost-effective.

Cost Impact: Minimal for the Overall Product

A common concern when switching to sustainable materials is cost. In reality, the impact on finished product cost is minimal.

For example, in a typical GaN mobile phone charger the average bill of materials is €5

Material pricing comparison:

Traditional FR-ABS: €5/kg
Floreon Therma-Tech: €7.2/kg

Plastic/PLA material comparison chart showing ABS against Floreon Therma-Tech

Although the polymer itself costs more per kilogram, the housing represents only a small portion of the overall product.

Overall Cost Impact

Switching materials increases the total charger cost by approximately €0.13 per unit

The housing share of the BOM increases slightly from 10.56% → 12.17%

This small increase enables manufacturers to achieve major carbon footprint reductions while remaining commercially competitive.

Circular Economy and End-of-Life Options

Sustainability does not end with manufacturing. Unlike many flame-retardant plastics that are difficult to recycle, Floreon Therma-Tech supports multiple circular pathways.

These include:

Mechanical recycling
Chemical recycling

This helps manufacturers align with growing circular economy regulations while extending the lifecycle value of the material.

Why Manufacturers are Switching to Floreon Therma-Tech

Floreon Therma-Tech delivers a powerful combination of engineering performance and sustainability.

Performance

UL94 V-0 flame retardancy
Mechanical strength comparable to ABS
Suitable for electrical casings
Halogen-free formulation

Sustainability

Renewable plant-based feedstock
Up to 7× lower carbon footprint
Reduced processing energy
Lower Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions
Recyclable material pathways

Manufacturing Advantages

Drop-in replacement for FR-ABS
Lower processing temperatures
No capital expenditure required
Compatible with standard production methods

A Strategic Advantage for Electronics Manufacturers

Switching to Floreon Therma-Tech offers more than environmental benefits. It provides manufacturers with a strategic competitive advantage.

Companies can:

Meet sustainability and ESG targets
Reduce product carbon footprint
Differentiate products in a competitive market
Strengthen brand credibility
Avoid greenwashing through measurable emissions reductions

The Future of Electrical Plastics with a Low Carbon Footprint

The electronics industry is entering a new era, traditional petroleum based plastics have dominated electrical products for decades, but the demand for sustainable alternatives is accelerating rapidly.

Floreon Therma-Tech proves that it is now possible to combine:

High performance
Flame retardancy
Manufacturing compatibility
Significant carbon reduction

All without redesigning products or production systems.

For manufacturers seeking to reduce emissions while maintaining safety, reliability and performance, Floreon Therma-Tech represents a practical and powerful solution

Trial Floreon Therma-Tech Material

Manufacturers interested in evaluating Floreon Therma-Tech can request trial material samples for testing and validation within their existing manufacturing processes.

Our technical team can support you with: