The automotive sector has always served as a fertile proving ground for advanced polymer technologies. It offers every imaginable challenge –– from durability, lightweighting, chemical resistance and safety, to comfort, sustainability, style and aesthetic perfection. Now, the trends toward both autonomous and electric vehicles are raising the bar even further. And, once again, plastic materials suppliers are innovating to meet the moment.
Ford Motor Co.’s May 19 announcement of its 2022-model, electric-battery F-150 Lightning pickup truck is seen by many as a game-changer. While not likely to be in widespread production before 2023, the introduction of a powerfully capable e-truck with an entry-level model priced at just below $40,000 USD (with trim lines maxing out at $90,000) may be enough to convince gas guzzlers to consider going electric. There are few details available yet as to the Lightning’s plastics uses, but one can assume that polymers play a key role in the battery technology and other key components, as they do in all-electric vehicles (EVs) now on the road.
Typical examples include the need in EVs for increased flame retardance in materials due to higher voltage levels and elevated operating temperatures over extended periods of time. Materials also need cooling systems that can withstand charging cycles while also continuing to work while on the road. High-end plastics and thermoplastic composites that replace metals also help with lightweighting, as every gram saved contributes to better range for electric batteries (as well as better fuel ratings for internal combustion engines). At the same time, demand remains strong for under-the-hood applications in vehicles of all types.
Let’s take a look at a few recent examples of materials innovation.
* Belgium-based EconCore NV has developed new honeycomb cores for laminated sandwich panels made with SABIC’s Noryl GTX™ resin, a polyphenylene ether (PPE) blend, and EconCore’s proprietary technology. These new honeycomb cores deliver high heat performance and the potential for recyclability for EV batteries and photovoltaics structures. EconCore says they offer higher heat performance, better dimensional stability and lower water absorption compared to honeycomb structures made with traditional thermoplastics. Such properties enable the new core material to be used in demanding applications such as certain automotive, e-mobility and photovoltaic components. Additionally, one can combine this new core with thermoplastic composite skins to produce an all-thermoplastic sandwich panel can facilitate recycling. SABIC says the PPE grade in question provides high heat resistance during processing of up to 240°C (465°F), with conductive grades that may be used in powder-coated automotive body panels.
* Solvay SA says it has extended its portfolio of high-performance polyphthalamide (PPA) compounds with Amodel® Bios, a new family of partially bio-based, long-chain PPA products that are ideal for use in demanding electrical and electronic applications in e-mobility. Besides its renewable feedstock content from non-food competing sources, it is produced with 100 % renewable electricity, Solvay notes, minimizing its global warming potential well below the level of other bio-based PPAs.
* Lanxess says it has recently tailored certain grades of its Pocan® polybutylene terephthalates (PBTs) and Durethan® polyamides (PAs) for use in lithium-ion battery components, as well as in EV charging stations and in electric powertrain parts. Potential applications include battery covers, high voltage plugs, control unit housings, cell holders and coolant lines.
In one example, the firm has developed a significantly improved hydrolysis-resistant PBT product family for use in high-voltage EV applications. Their three primary Pocan® XHR (Xtreme Hydrolysis Resistance) grades and one specialty TP grade for laser transmission welding have a 150-175°C temperature resistance range and go from unfilled to 35% glass filling.
As it relates to charging stations, Lanxess notes, “Unreinforced materials are mainly used for charging plugs because they offer a high level of dimensional stability and surface quality, are impact-resistant, and thus mechanically robust, and are also available as flame-retardant compounds whenever they come into contact with live electronic parts.”
* Germany’s Domo Chemicals, meanwhile, is leveraging color to enhance safety for those individuals exposed to powertrain electrification systems, which can pose potential electric shock hazards. In accordance with regional regulations for such components, Domo has formulated its nylon 6 electrical safety polymer in a palette of orange pigmented grades that make them instantly recognizable. Dubbed Technyl® Orange, this range of fire-resistant products is for use in high-voltage automotive components and cabling in EVs. These grades are said to offer reliable color retention, laser-marking, flame-retardancy, high heat and fatigue resistance.
* BASF also is targeting some nylon compounds –– specifically its Ultradur flame-retardant PA66 grades –– as metal replacement materials to help lower the weight of EV drive-train parts. Such parts typically have been made mostly of die-cast aluminum or steel, but these halogen- and phosphorus-free, injection molding grades from BASF are said to offer good electrical properties, low smoke density, and excellent free-flow properties, while proving resistant in a glow wire test (up to 960°C).
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As EVs become more commonplace, not to mention advanced, it’s easy to see that different manufacturers will have to follow suit. Great to see how plastic materials suppliers and the like are aiding the growth of the EV market.