Covestro AG is considering expanding its polycarbonate business, choosing to increase production in China and may add significant capacity to unspecified plants in the next four years.
Philipp Polenz, head of Covestro's polycarbonate business unit in North America, said the investments are to meet growing demand in key growth end markets (mobile tools, electrical and electronic (E & E), medical and consumer products, etc.)
At the Chinese Sakai plant, Covestro is considering increasing its production capacity by 50,000 tons (ktpa) per year from 2020 to 2022, increasing its total production capacity to 150,000 tons per year.
"Besides that, we plan to increase the production capacity by 130,000 tons by 2022, and the additional plants are still to be determined," Polenz said in an interview before the German Plastics Industry Trade Fair (Fakuma).
According to Polenz, these expansions are based on the development trend of polycarbonate demand, and Covestro estimates that the demand for polycarbonate will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4% over the next five years.
For Covestro, a chemical supplier based in Leverkusen, Germany, global trends such as population growth, urbanization, climate change, energy demand, mobility growth, and digitization are key growth drivers.
Polenz noted that trends such as electric vehicles (EV) and autonomous vehicles (AV) may accelerate demand growth.
According to Covestro's official, polycarbonate functional plastic solutions play a "critical role" in the new EV / AV trend by ensuring economic, safety and personalized integration.
These include some futuristic ideas, such as new wrap-around glazing, a dome-like roof, providing passengers with 360-degree accessibility, or a seamless front-end module that integrates sensors and antennas into autonomous driving Car body parts.
Another theme for future mobile tools is the integration of battery cells for lithium-ion batteries. In order to accurately place a large number of battery cells in a small space, the battery holder and the battery frame and the housing assembly must have very large dimensional stability and mechanical robustness.
To achieve this, the company has developed a variety of polycarbonate blends that not only meet these requirements, but also have extremely high impact resistance over a wide temperature range, especially at sub-zero temperatures.
At the German Plastics Industry Trade Fair (Fakuma), the company showcased various Covestro materials solutions for battery modules, battery holders, crash absorbers and other products.
However, this new automotive concept will require new regulations, such as new standards in technology, process or use of materials.
For example, Polenz said that for autonomous driving, it is necessary to clarify how the communication between autonomous vehicles and pedestrians should be implemented.
The Covestro executive said: "People will wait on the crosswalk because they don't know if they can cross the road safely."
In the case of polycarbonate, however, Covestro assures its customers and automotive OEMs that with this material, many boundaries can be broken.
In addition to polycarbonate, Covestro's recently upgraded continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite (CFRTP) technology has also increased demand.
This demand is largely driven by the global trend towards lightweight solutions, where CFRTP composites provide a strong and lightweight material.
Polenz explained, "At the production site in Markt Bibart, southern Germany, we use continuous carbon or glass fibers based on impregnation with polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or other thermoplastic resins for the manufacture of unidirectional reinforced tapes and sheets. . "
The sturdy, light and beautiful materials can be combined into various products, providing designers with new creative space.
Three years ago, Covestro strengthened its CFRTP business by acquiring start-up composites manufacturer TCG in Markt Bibart in southeastern Germany. Since then, the company has expanded the production of continuous reinforced composites to undisclosed commercial levels.
The company launched the thermoplastic composites brand Maezio in August, saying it aims to "accelerate the popularity of composites."
"Thermoplastics can be hot-pressed with high yields and low cycle times by using existing thermoplastic tools, making them suitable for large-scale production," said Polenz.
Polenz said that the company is "confident" in the future of the material due to its strong interest in the application of this material in different fields such as electronics, automotive, medical and sports.
"The range of applications is very wide, and the ways in which our products can reach consumers' lives are also very wide," he said.
Another area discovered in recent years is digital.
Covestro launched the comprehensive digital Digital @ Covestro project last year, which mainly involves three major themes of digital operations, digital customer experience and digital business models.
In the field of digital operations, the cost efficiency of the company's own technical processes has been improved, mainly in terms of production.
Digital customer experience opens up new digital channels to connect with customers, and digital business models target new business models, such as online trading platforms for standard products.