APT Asia Pacific offers green surfacing solutions at Tokyo 2020 Olympics

This year’s Tokyo Games will be the fifth Olympics where a Poligras hockey surface is to be used for hockey events.

Developed by APT (Advanced Polymer Technology), the company feels that the new Poligras® Tokyo GT® product is one of the “most sustainable and technologically advanced surfaces” it has developed.

Developed in conjunction with Polytan Asia Pacific and FIH (International Hockey Federation) to align with Tokyo 2020’s progressive sustainability policies, Poligras® Tokyo GT® is a world first synthetic hockey turf which features filaments made from over 60% regrowable raw materials, specifically sugar cane.

Using BioBased PE, a sustainable dimension has now been added to the outstanding playing properties of the tried-and-tested polyethylene monofilament fibres.

Other sustainable features include a shock pad that sits underneath the surface which uses fully recycled rubber and a binder that has been produced with CO2. This world-first component called cardyon® - a polyol containing CO2, reduces the amount of crude oil required in the binder by 20%, and is a huge advancement in making the chemical and plastics manufacturing industries greener.

Aside from Green Technology used to develop Poligras® Tokyo GT®, it also offers first-class playability and performance for hockey players, and has been tested and certified by FIH. By incorporating APT’s proprietary COOLplus® yarn technology, which reflects infrared rays, studies have shown that the surface temperatures are consistently 10-20% lower than competitive systems. This means better player comfort and a reduced need for irrigation. Ball speeds have also increased by 15% on the new Poligras® Tokyo GT® hockey surface compared with Poligras Platinum which was used at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Click here to contact APT Asia Pacific Pty Ltd via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory. 

Images: Poligras® Tokyo GT® installed for the 2020 Games (top) and the Olympic hockey centre from the air (below). Images courtesy of APT/Getty Images.