Evonik invests in new ROHACELL® production facility

Evonik's original production facility in Darmstadt has been manufacturing ROHACELL® structural foam, which is used as a core material for sandwich composite materials, for 50 years. Sales have risen steadily in recent years due to increasing market demand for lightweight components in a wide range of industries, including medical technology and sports applications to parts for the electronics industry and automotive and aircraft construction. ROHACELL® plays a role in emerging technology developments, such as high frequency equipment for 5G networks as well as the design of air taxis. In addition, the product range of high-performance foams will soon be expanded with new product developments beyond ROHACELL® polymethacrylimide structural foam.

With modern, state-of-the-art buildings and a production environment that meets the latest safety standards, Evonik is well equipped to meet growing customer demand and the high-quality requirements of industries such as aerospace and automotive. "With this contribution, Evonik continues on its path of investing in products that support sustainable solutions for our customers," says Dr. Claus Rettig, head of Evonik's Smart Materials Division. "Manufacturers in many industries want to efficiently produce high-performance lightweight components. Our high-performance foams for composites make this possible."

Production will continue at the existing plant in Darmstadt during the construction and modernization phase. The first new production plant will start operation in April 2022, and further plants will follow over the course of the year.

Production of the high-performance foam ROHACELL® began in 1972 in Darmstadt, Germany, later expanding into the Americas and Asia. Additional plants and regional teams are located in Mobile (Alabama, USA) and Shanghai (China) to support and supply customers in North and South America and Asia.

ROHACELL® is a rigid polymethacrylimide structural foam used in the design and manufacture of sandwich components in aerospace and aviation, automotive, marine, sports equipment, electronics and medical applications. The extremely lightweight foam can withstand high temperatures and high pressure, making it ideal as a core material for composite components. Because components can be manufactured quickly and efficiently with ROHACELL® cores, and they are ideal for automated manufacturing, they often enable more cost-effective production of composite parts compared to other core materials.