COMPOUNDS | LFTs
they can get very hot, and this can lead to thermal runaway and then fire unless the cells are properly protected.
At NPE 2024, SABIC announced a set of test
results for its Stamax 30YH570 long-fibre rein- forced PP material which could help in automotive fuel cells. SABIC used four different scenarios to highlight the benefits of the grade in this type of insulation role. In one, a cluster of 15 18650 lithium-ion cells were protected with injection moulded Stamax 30YH570, and one was left without. These two scenarios were repeated with two clusters of 11 21700 fuel cells. All of the cells were sealed in steel containers. To test the effectiveness of the LFT material as an
Above: SABIC LFT compounds are being used in battery
systems in the Hyundai Ioniq 6 2023 model
100% PCR material. If the grades are blended in a 2:1 ratio, carbon savings of up to 55% can be made compared to using similarly long-glass fibre reinforced compounds with 100% virgin PP matrix materials, the company claims. Blending your own LFT can help to simplify
inventory, said TechnoCompound. This is because in-house blending via extruder enables different ratios of base materials to be produced as needed. And, the company said, it may be possible to simplify inventory to possibly only two base materials. TechnoCompound said that several of its compounds have passed automotive industry testing and are being used in two mass-production Audi models, and the 2024 models of the Porsche Macan and Mini Cooper. The materials are used in IP carriers. To win the applications the materials had to meeting strict physical requirements, and since these are internal components they must also meet stringent odour and volatile emission standards. ConClimate, a sister company, is working with
TechnoCompound to calculate the carbon savings by considering the Class 1, 2 and 3 carbon emis- sions which includes product packaging at the TechnoCompound factory gate. Dirk Breitbach, Managing Director at Techno-
Compound, said: “It’s 35 years that we’ve been using recycled materials to produce high quality compounds… these meet stringent requirements across a wide range of applications.” The automotive sector values LFT materials for their high specific strength. The key property of being strong and lightweight helps car makers to reduce the weight of components and so improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles. It is especially important that the non-battery components of electric vehicles are as light as possible because it is difficult to reduce the weight of batteries and maintain range or performance. One of the dangers of large battery systems is that
50 COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2025
insulating material, each of the separate setups were heated using electrical tape to begin thermal runaway. The unprotected cells quickly started releasing high-temperature gas, open flames, high speed particles and the pressure inside the steel containers holding the batteries quickly increased. At the same time the runaway propagated to all the neighbouring cell as heat transferred easily between the cells. Systems protected with Stamax 30HY570 components behaved differently. In these systems, the PP LFT material surrounding the heated cell melted, turned to gas and charred. The changes in state from solid to liquid to gas removed energy from the heated cell because of the latent heat needed to change the physical state of the poly- mer. At the same time, the remaining material formed an insulating char which helped slow the spread of heat and fire. SABIC said that PP LFT compounds are being used commercially in battery systems in the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6. The model features module enclosures made from H1030 PP compound. This is a non-halogenated formulation that contains 30% glass fibre. The grade also meets China’s GB/T 41467.3-2015 fire safety regulation for electric vehicles surviving 5 mins at 1,000° C. In addition to showing these battery parts, SABIC used the NPE 2024 exhibition to show how its long-fibre reinforced PP materials could be used in a range of other automotive applications where low-weight, high-strength, enhanced electrical and thermal insulation could be useful properties on their own or combined with parts integration for additional benefits. Some of the parts on display included enclosures, end plates and busbars which were either in production or prototypes. As well as electrical and battery applications, other structural applications such as tailgates, lighting components and smart panels were on display.
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IMAGE: HYUNDAI
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