>“Compared with materials like polyurethane foam [used for thermal insulation], products made with cork require less energy and produce less CO2 emissions.”
Polyurethane foam is used for thermal insulation in a few places. But fiberglass is still the champion of that sector, and it's older than plastic and more durable and abundant than cork. More often, polyurethane is used for couch cushions, cheap mattresses, and shoes, which are difficult use-cases for cork — Birkenstocks have a cult following but poor water resistance.
>used to shield fuel tanks on NASA spacecraft and electric car batteries.
And this about wraps it up.
There are probably some good use cases for cork, but the major advantage of plastic is the ability to do so much with so little. An LDPE bag of the sort now banned in California weighs about six grams. I can't think of many things you could do with six grams of cork that don't involve grapes.