Honeycomb core technology specialist EconCore (Leuven / Belgium; www.econcore.com) and polyurethane and polycarbonate producer Covestro (Leverkusen / Germany; www.covestro.com) are teaming up to develop lightweight and strong honeycomb panels made from PC grades and blends. The panels comply with fire, smoke and toxicity requirements and are for public transport applications, including railway and aviation.

Covestro is contributing the polycarbonate materials to the partnership. The German company is also developing a range of thermoplastic composites, which contain PC and TPU matrix materials, under its "Maezio" brand – see Plasteurope.com of 09.08.2018. EconCore has a patented manufacturing process for honeycomb cores made of polypropylene, although its technology allows for the production of core material from other thermoplastics. The honeycomb cores are produced by the Belgian company's subsidiary ThermHex Waben (Halle / Germany). “The sandwich technology of EconCore is especially interesting for lightweight applications Covestro is targeting with Maezio,” said Arne Böttcher, responsible for market development of the Maezio brand in the EMEA region.

A Covestro spokesperson told Plasteurope.com that both companies want to independently market the products. EconCore is to manufacture and supply the honeycomb cores, while Covestro will market the panels under its Maezio brand. The Belgian specialist works with several well-known companies on solutions for the transport industry, including a collaboration with Lanxess (Cologne / Germany; www.lanxess.com) launched in 2014 to produce PA honeycomb cores for automotive engineering.