3A Composites launches carbon-neutral balsa core material

 

Editor’s note: CompositesWorld received several new product and technology announcements ahead of JEC World 2020, which had been scheduled for March 3-5. Although that exhibition was postponed to May, CW is now publishing the announcements we received. This is one of them.

3A Composites Core Materials (Sins, Switzerland) is presenting BALTEK SBC, which is reported to be a completely carbon-neutral structural core material. The carbon neutrality, 3A Composites says, results from significantly higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions captured by 3A Composites’ balsa plantations than caused by the balsa core material production.

According to 3A Composites, external calculations conducted by SCX (Bolsa de Clima de Santiago, Chile) and Factor CO2 (Ecuador) have confirmed BALTEK SBC reaches superior Greenhouse Gas Emissions Balance without the use of external offsetting.

3A Composites Core Materials manages several thousand hectares of FSC-certified balsa plantations in Papua New Guinea (FSC-C125018) and Ecuador (FSC-C019065) to produce its structural core material BALTEK SBC. The company claims its plantations and facilities are what make BALTEK SBC a renewable, carbon-neutral product.

 

 

The company is also adding an additional member to its family of high-performance foams: AIREX TegraCore, which combines low density with high properties in fire resistance, damage tolerance, moisture resistance and formability.

AIREX TegraCore is said to easily pass heat release tests and exhibits necessary fire resistance and damage tolerance for applications such as aircraft interiors, components in railways and other public transport vehicles. 

The product is based on a thermoplastic polymer, which allows easy thermoforming into complex shapes, also enabling all-thermoplastic sandwich features for new curved designs.