TAGS: Automotive New Energy Solutions Thermoplastic Composites Sustainability and Bioplastics
At Fakuma 2023, Envalior is presenting material and technology solutions for key trends of the future such as electric and fuel-cell mobility, autonomous driving, lightweight design, alternative energy generation, and digitalization.
To achieve these solutions, the company uses its highly versatile portfolio of tailor-made products, ranging from technical plastics such as polyamides 6 and 66 or polybutylene terephthalate to high-performance thermoplastics such as polyphenylene sulfide or high-temperature polyamides such as polyamide 46 and polyphthalamide.
Breakthrough Material for Fuel-cell Technology for Hydrogen Vehicles
“
We resulted from the merger of two industry leaders – namely DSM Engineering Materials and LANXESS High Performance Materials. We can therefore offer our customers application expertise built up over decades with tailor-made services which is essential for innovative product developments,” explained Giorgio Coppolino, commercial director Europe at Envalior, in the run-up to the trade fair.
One particular focus of Envalior’s appearance at the trade fair is on sustainable material solutions. “
With these solutions, we aim to further boost the development of climate-friendly and resource-efficient material cycles, thus advancing the transformation from a linear economy to a circular one,” added Giorgio Coppolino. Consequently, Envalior aims to offer mass-balanced bio-based or recycled material variants of its entire product range by 2030. This measure is intended to help make Envalior climate-neutral.
In collaboration with leading customers in the automotive industry, Envalior has made a breakthrough in material development for fuel-cell technology for hydrogen-powered vehicles. A
Xytron™ modified polyphenylene sulfide compound from which only an extremely small amount of ions are washed out has been developed for proton-exchange membranes of fuel cells. In addition, the highly hydrolytically stable material enables membranes with a high weld-line strength. It allows fuel cells to be produced and operated more cost-effectively, safely, and reliably. The material has major potential for application in heavy-goods vehicles or the production of hydrogen for a sustainable energy industry.
Lightweight Composite for Extreme Conditions in Event of Battery-cell Fire
A new
continuous-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite Tepex® is a further highlight for the “new mobility” sector. It passes market-standard thermal runaway tests for battery housings in electric vehicles with very thin walls and so withstands the extreme conditions in the event of a battery-cell fire. The composite material is much lighter than steel and aluminum and is also available with recycled carbon fibers so that it exhibits an electromagnetically shielding effect. Along with battery housings, components within the battery, for instance cell housings, holders, and partitions, also have major potential for application.
Recently, Envalior also showed that the benefits of
injection molding can be used in the production of large battery housings for electric vehicles. A modular system that provides freedom to choose the processing technology, machines, and materials has been developed. The housings can be manufactured as purely injection-molded parts on large machines with high clamping forces. Alternatively, processors can use smaller, more cost-effective injection-molding machines with lower clamping forces by overmolding large sections made from the continuous-fiber-reinforced Tepex
® composites. These sections serve as the base and cover of the housings.
At Fakuma, Envalior is also showcasing the benefits that Tepex
® provides as a reinforcing material in the design of lightweight, highly integrated, and highly loadable front-end carriers. Relevant parts are displayed to demonstrate that these benefits pay off in luxury and low-price vehicles alike.
One exhibit highlight in terms of lightweight design is a front-end carrier jointly developed by the Chinese system supplier Dongfang Jiangsu and Envalior. It replaces a welded metal structure and is the world’s first series-production part to be manufactured using hollow-profile hybrid technology (HPH). Instead of steel or aluminum sheets, HPH uses hollow metal sections that are overmolded. This results in components that are around 20–30 percent lighter as well as having increased torsional stiffness and dimensional stability. Major potential applications of HPH include the manufacture of instrument-panel-carriers or cross-car-beams.
Thermally-resistant Materials for Automotive Electronics and Motors
Envalior has developed tailor-made
Stanyl® polyamide 46 compounds for the lightweight design of miniaturized high-speed ball bearings for electric motors. With these compounds, extremely small and thin-walled housings can be made for the bearings. Exhibits include housings that withstand the extremely high thermal, dynamic, and mechanical loads when the ball bearings operate at speeds of up to 30,000 rpm at low torque.
The
ForTii® ACE polyphthalamide compounds are a material innovation for FAKRA connectors. These connectors are used in automotive electronics, for instance in driver assistance system sensors, and in connectivity components such as antennas and navigation systems. They must not absorb moisture and must have color and dimensional stability as well, the ability to be given any color, high resistance to mechanical and thermal loads, plus high tracking resistance and dielectric strength. ForTii
® ACE meets all these requirements. It is also the only polyamide worldwide that fulfills the JEDEC MSL1 standard. That is why connectors made from the material do not need special packaging to protect them against moisture. Instead, they are suitable for almost unlimited storage in the open.
Lots of space at Envalior’s stand at Fakuma is taken by exhibits made from sustainable materials, including some that are 100 percent bio-based or contain recycled materials. In all manner of applications, such as high-end consumer goods, automotive or sports, these materials are a high-performance, viable alternative to their fossil-based counterparts. The exhibits include outdoor jackets and DiFold bottles made from
Arnitel® TPC B-MB bio-based thermoplastic copolyesters.
Faucets made from the
polyamide 410 compound EcoPaXX®, which is based on castor oil, are also on display. Other highlights are switches and sockets from Schneider Electric’s Merten Ocean Plastic model series, which are made from Akulon
® RePurposed for smart-home applications. The material base for this polyamide 6 post-consumer recyclate is derived from spent fishing nets left in the sea. The prototype of a lightweight passenger-car seat shell based predominantly on renewable flax fibers is also showcased, along with a surfboard fin made from Durethan
® BLUEBKV30H2.0. The polyamide 6 compound is made from almost 90 percent bio-based and recycled raw materials. It is seawater-compatible, mechanically robust, easy to color, and enables a lightweight design solution.
With Jhagadia in India and Porto Feliz in Brazil, two more of Envalior’s 18 production facilities have been certified according to the ISCC Plus sustainability standard. As a result, these sites can now market ECO compounds of the
Durethan® (polyamides 6 and 66) and
Pocan® (PBT) brands, for which the content of bio-based and/or circular raw materials is disclosed transparently for customers thanks to mass-balance methodology.
Fakuma will take place from October 17 to 21, 2023, at Friedrichshafen Exhibition Center. You can find Envalior’s stand in Hall B4 under the number 4302.
Envalior's Complete Product Range
Source: Envalior
