At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, field hockey will be played on a new synthetic turf signed Polytan and developed specifically for Olympic competitions: it is called Polytan Poligras Paris GT zero, the successor to Poligras Tokyo GT. 

The new turf will help Paris meet its environmental goals, setting new standards in playing quality and environmental friendliness.

The characteristics of the Poligras Paris GT Zero turf for Paris 2024 field hockey.

In the new Polytan turf, fossil fuel-based polyethylene is replaced in production with organically based polyethylene: the  I’m Greenâ„¢ polyethylene is an organic plastic made by Braskem, the world’s largest producer of organically based polyethylene.

A by-product of sugarcane processing in Brasil is used fr the carbone-neutral hockey turf: in the production process, the first two pressings of the sugar cane are used for sugar production, and the third, which is no longer useful for sugar, is used as the raw material for organic polyethylene, which makes up 80% of Poligras Paris GT Zero. 

Also helping to maximize the sustainability of Polytan Poligras Paris GT zero is the constantly improved product design, which consumes very little water compared to the past. The synthetic turf used in Tokyo consumed 39% less water than the turf used in Rio only 4 years earlier. The new turf developed for Paris 2024 takes this development even further, with the introduction of Turf Glide, a new patent protected technology that reduces surface friction. This requires less water to reduce the friction resistance and minimize the risk of injury.

Paul Kamphuis, Polytan global manager for the implementation of field hockey projects worldwide, including the one for Paris 2024, summarizes, “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 the first Poligras Paris GT zero field hockey turf at the renowned Hamburger Polo Club, whose men’s team plays in the first Bundesliga. In the future, it will be used by both professional Bundesliga players and youth teams.