Automotive Industry
For DSM, this is a challenge that was embraced a long time ago. The company regularly supports scientists pushing boundaries in solar, such as the Delft University of Technology team in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Traveling 3,000 km from Darwin to Adelaide with a solar-powered car, these students relied on DSM’s solar expertise– as well as its light, strong engineering materials. And with success: the team has won seven times. Of course, fueling the car of the future is a much bigger task – but DSM is also taking the next steps towards more commercial solutions. Specifically, the company partners with Lightyear, the manufacturer of Lightyear One. This fully electric car has a solar roof and hood – comprising five square meters of integrated solar cells within safety glass – and can travel up to 725 kilometres on a fully charged battery. The partnership now wants to scale up this unique solar-powered roof and accelerate the global adoption of electric vehicles. Developments like this demonstrate that, with the right materials and support, solar energy and alternative fuels can definitely drive the cars of the future.
Manufacturing the car of the future But it’s not just automotive emissions that affect the environment. When it comes to manufacturing, the automotive industry has traditionally relied on scarce, fossil-based raw materials such as precious metals. Indeed, the automotive industry uses more lead than any other sector, yet experts forecast that lead reserves will run out by 2030. More renewable solutions are needed. And, with the pressing need for greater circularity, manufacturers must also look for new opportunities to repurpose, reuse, or recycle theirmaterials. One example of this is ‘closed- loop recycling’ of materials from end-of-life vehicles, which are then
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used to manufacture new vehicle bodies and parts – an already common process. However, given the additional need to reduce weight (to reduce CO2
emissions),
car manufacturers will also need more lightweight materials, such as high-performance plastics. This offers an opportunity to introduce bio-based plastics, which are more recyclable than fossil-based equivalents. DSM’s history in materials science, world-class R&D facilities, and the company’s global network of materials scientists give it the special opportunity to help its customers make this transition happen. For instance, DSM Engineering Materials has committed to developing and rolling out a complete portfolio of bio-based and/or recycled-
based alternatives by 2030. The alternative portfolio will contain at least 25% recycled or bio-based content, measured by weight in the final product. Importantly, all of the renewable or recycled-based products in this portfolio will deliver the same functional performance as their conventional counterparts, and will not require any special handling equipment or tooling. So, when it comes to the materials used in the car of the future, we might be close to achieving Ford’s bio-based dream.
Additive Manufacturing: rethinking automotive design Besides the need for more renewable and recycled-based materials, car manufacturers are also facing the pressure of bringing
cars to market faster and at lower cost than ever. This means that design concepts and prototypes need to be produced faster, more efficiently, and cost-effectively. The solution might just be Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing. The rate of progress in AM is little short of staggering: in just a few years, it has become a major disruptive technology set to turn industrial manufacturing upside down. No more expensive and time-consuming injection moulding to produce small series, spare parts, and tooling. Instead, additive manufacturing can now produce components that are indistinguishable from traditionally produced thermoplastics – in less time, with less waste, and at lower cost.
Summer 2020
www.chemicalsknowledgehub.com
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