puren gmbh has completed a significant expansion of its plant at the Obermarchtal site. With a total investment of approximately EUR 50 million, production capacity has been substantially increased by commissioning a third production line for the functional material purenit. The official inauguration took place in front of around 320 guests from politics, business, and research. The new facility triples the company's production capacity at the site and creates up to 40 new jobs, which are to be filled in phases. Previously, 65 employees worked in Obermarchtal.
Focus on resource efficiency and circular economy
During the festive event, the connection between climate protection, resource efficiency, and industrial value creation was discussed. Dr. Andreas Huther, Managing Director of puren gmbh, highlighted the company's early focus on the recycling of by-products, which led to the development of purenit functional materials. Currently, up to 90 per cent of purenit is produced from material remnants. Dr. Huther emphasised that the circular economy for high-performance PU insulation materials and purenit is not a future vision, but is already being implemented in practice.
Thekla Walker, the Minister for the Environment for Baden-Württemberg, described the plant expansion as exemplary for industrial transformation. She underlined that resource efficiency, circular economy, and the energy transition do not represent obstacles for industry, but rather drivers of growth and job creation, especially in the GreenTech sector. The long-standing cooperation with Covestro AG was highlighted by Dr. Thorsten Dreier, Board Member and CTO of Covestro AG. Through ISCC Plus certification, bio-circular and climate-neutral binders from Covestro can be used in puren's production in the future to further reduce purenit's CO₂ footprint.
Importance of energy efficiency for climate protection
Professor Dr. Andreas Holm from the Forschungsinstitut für Wärmeschutz e.V. Munich shed light on the role of energy efficiency in the heating transition. An energetically optimised building envelope not only reduces heating demand but also increases the efficiency of heat pumps. He stated that energy efficiency is not an alternative to the heating transition, but rather its prerequisite. ARD meteorologist Karsten Schwanke drew attention to the consequences of climate change and referred to the summer of 2026 as the hottest in Baden-Württemberg since records began. He warned against viewing such temperature levels as the new normal and pointed to the increasingly Mediterranean conditions, wetter winters, and drier summers in Germany. The availability of water would become a central future issue and a potential point of contention. Schwanke noted that those who provide solutions for tomorrow today will be successful.
Following the celebrations, guests had the opportunity to visit the new production line during factory tours. An accompanying exhibition presented various applications of the purenit functional material produced in Obermarchtal.
