Premiere at Chinaplas trade fair from April 23-26 in Shanghai
APEC® XT: new product line based on polycarbonate copolymers from Covestro
- Promising application possibilities in the electrical and electronics industry, healthcare, mobility and photovoltaics
- Enhanced properties and functions compared to standard grades
- Plastics with mass-balanced and recycled raw materials will also be made available
Covestro introduces a new range of products based on polycarbonate copolymers at the Chinaplas trade fair. This makes plastics available that are characterized by enhanced properties and functionalities compared to standard products and are therefore suitable for an even wider range of applications in important industrial sectors. Thanks to a new production process, plastics based on polycarbonate copolymers can be launched on the market more quickly in future and produced on an industrial scale. A new plant for the production of these copolymers was commissioned at the company's Antwerp site at the end of March 2024.
The first applications for the new grades could be in the electrical and electronics industry, as well as in healthcare. Both sectors are particularly well represented in Asia. For their use in housing parts, plastics of the new Apec® XT line must above all offer freedom of design, dimensional stability, impact as well as chemical resistance and, in some cases, good flame retardancy.
There are also promising prospects for the copolymers in telecommunications and photovoltaics, for example in antenna housings, where weather-resistant, electrically insulating, ductile and flame-retardant materials are needed.
Further product innovations based on the new copolymer technology platform could focus on the automotive industry and infrastructure, where plastics from the new series have good prospects for use in housings for residential energy storage systems, charging stations and wall boxes, for example, thanks to their good electrical insulation properties, weather resistance and flame retardancy.
Apec® XT grades will be designed to remain resilient even in the harshest conditions. The new copolymer technology enables the production of products that exhibit high impact strength even at temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius. In addition, these copolymers have improved chemical and ageing resistance, making them ideal for applications that require contact with aggressive cleaning agents and long durability in outdoor applications.
More sustainable products also available
APEC® XT will also be part of the Covestro CQ portfolio of more sustainable product solutions. In that regard, Covestro will offer copolymer-based products in a version with up to 80 percent of ISCC PLUS-certified mass-balanced raw materials attributed from biowaste and bio-residues.
In addition, the company will offer products that incorporate recycled materials in order to also further reduce its environmental footprint. Moreover, due to its superior weatherability performance, the extended service life of APEC® XT based products will improve product carbon footprint over its entire life cycle.
About Covestro:
Covestro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, telecommunications and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.
The company is geared completely to the circular economy. In addition, Covestro aims to achieve climate neutrality for its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035, and the Group’s Scope 3 emissions are also set to be climate neutral by 2050. Covestro generated sales of EUR 14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. At the end of 2023, the company had 48 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
Forward-looking statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro’s public reports, which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.