ELECTRIC VEHICLES | COMPOUNDS
economy, and we’re very proud to offer this innovative new solution to the market.” Danish company EVBiler manufactures and sells
Above: Renault has developed a lightweight fuel tank for PHEVs using Akulon Fuel Lock PA from DSM
The winner in the Materials category was
Cooper Standard’s Plasticool Lightweight Multi- layer Tubing, developed for General Motors. The Celanese team collaborated on the tubing design to replace an EPDM thermoset rubber with Zytel PA612 polyamide. The result was a 60% reduction in weight and better chemical resistance and strength. The winner in the Electric and Autonomous
Vehicle Systems category was a High Voltage (HV) power distribution system created by Yazaki/Aptiv with more than 130 components to meet all Ford’s flame retardant and sealing requirements. The car maker selected a flame retardant glass-filled Crastin PBT for the high voltage contacts and for a structural cover produced with over-moulded silicone seals in a hydrolysis resistant grade.
Targeting emissions
Right: EVBiler is using a recycled PP compound from Polykemi in its latest charging cable holder
Hybrid vehicles fit in the gap between EVs and ICE vehicles and share some of the challenges of both powertrains. Despite using smaller fuel tanks, for example, emissions can still be a challenge using current multi-layer HDPE technology. To address this issue, DSM Engineering Materials partnered with Renault to create a lightweight and decom- plexed plug-in hybrid vehicle fuel tank using its Akulon Fuel Lock PA6 grades. The company says etremely high parison stability enables very narrow wall thickness distributions, while robust perfor- mance at both high and low temperatures ensures a high level of safety. Dr Laurent Gervat, Leader of the Upstream
Strategy Material Team at Renault says: “Working with DSM Engineering Materials to create our new hybrid vehicle fuel tanks has helped us take a significant step toward providing more sustainable mobility to our customers. Hybrid vehicles are a key part of the transition toward a more sustainable
30 COMPOUNDING WORLD | February 2023
www.compoundingworld.com
parts for both electric and hybrid cars, including mobile and stationary charging stations and various accessories. The company recently decided to change the material used in one of its flexible holders for charging cables. Originally produced in ABS and 3D printed, increasing demand meant a switch to injection moulding. It chose Polykemi to provide the right material for the application. After considering EVBiler’s specific needs and demand profile, Polykemi’s technical team, aided by their counterparts at sister company Rondo Plast, proposed its REPRO PP RG124 recycled PP with 20% glass fibre. The material change meant a saving of 4.25kg of CO2 per kg of material and an overall CO2 saving of more than 80%. “The choice was based on the fact that we wanted the same strength of the material but with lower CO2 emissions. We also looked at the recycling of the material after the lifetime of the product,” says Ole Tietze, Sales and Technical Support for Polykemi in Denmark and Benelux. Charging box maker Heidelberg has also been looking at material options, selecting PA for the housing of its latest Amperfied wallbox rather than the metal enclosures it had used previously. The company selected an Ultramid PA6 grade from BASF for the part, which in addition to dimensional stability and mechanical strength also had to be transparent to the radio frequencies necessary for the unit’s data communication. “Heidelberg Amperified wallboxes have always been characterised by a timelessly designed and robust housing. With the Ultramid housing, togeth- er with BASF, we have managed to transfer the qualities of the first generation to the wallboxes of our new generation and to meet additional require- ments, such as connectivity,” says Ulrich Grimm, Technical Managing Director of Amperfied.
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IMAGE: DSM ENGINEERING MATERIALS
IMAGE: POLYKEMI
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