MATERIALS | AUTOMOTIVE
Philipp Fröhlig, head of industrial services at AZL
Aachen, added: “Our goal is to enable every participant to make well-founded technical and business decisions for their own product roadmap. Companies benefit from collective benchmarking, faster learning by first-hand information, and a shared understanding of what drives efficiency and competitiveness in thermoplastic pressure vessel technologies.”
Odour reduction Spain-based Aimplas is leading the H2Odor project which aims to develop a recyclate-based thermoplastic for automotive interiors – that is free of both contaminants and odours. Although many people like the ‘new car smell’,
Above: H2Odor will develop a
recyclate-
based thermo- plastic free of contaminants and odours
enabling cost-effective substitution of virgin Peek in high-temperature components while cutting carbon footprint. Bieglo offers natural recycled Peek grades in different viscosities and compound- ed recycled Peek.
Hydrogen vessel AZL, part of RWTH Aachen University, has launched a project to develop thermoplastic pressure vessels for hydrogen storage – which has Toyota Motor Europe as a partner. The nine-month project aims to benchmarking design-for-manufacturing strategies to optimise material efficiency and cost. It is structured into three work packages: Market & Technology Landscape – which maps relevant technologies, certification protocols, and relevant IP; Conceptual Design & Manufacturing Strategies – developing vessel architectures optimised for thermoplastics, evaluating design variants and defining production system concepts; and Performance, Cost & Produc- tion Benchmarking – which will quantify material usage, recyclability, cycle times and other factors, say the partners. AZL says that thermoplastic hydrogen pressure vessels for mobile and stationary applications have both production and recyclability advantages over thermosets.
“Using thermoplastic resins to manufacture
high-pressure hydrogen storage vessels is of interest to us,” said Martin Kerschbaum, manager ME22 at Toyota Motor Europe. “This is due to potential advantages in terms of design, process- ing, performance and circularity. It is essential to compare and evaluate the diverse options of design and manufacturing strategies for high-pres- sure vessels based on thermoplastic composite materials.”
18 INJECTION WORLD | May/June 2026
the aroma comes from the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can have harmful effects on health and the environment. H2Odor intends to reduce these types of odours and promote the use of recycled materials in the automotive sector. The project will focus on optimising the pre-
treatment of recycled plastic with water-based decontamination and deodorisation technologies, it says.
“Our goal is to show that it is possible to make high-quality recycled materials with low environ- mental impact and reduced odour that are com- petitive for use in vehicle interiors,” said Juan Alfon- so Naranjo, researcher in sustainable and future mobility at Aimplas. Partners include Fych Technologies – which will use its own water vapour-based odour elimination technology – and Faperin, an experienced injection moulder.
Using 50% recycled plastics in the interior parts
of all vehicles made in Spain would reduce CO2 emissions by the equivalent of that generated by around 158,000 vehicles in one year, according to Aimplas.
CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.syensqo.com �
www.radicigroup.com �
www.envalior.com �
www.basf.com �
www.brueggemann.com �
www.asahi-kasei.com �
www.iap.fraunhofer.de �
www.sabic.com �
www.kraiburg-tpe.com �
www.bieglo.com �
https://azl-aachen-gmbh.de �
www.aimplas.es
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: AIMPLAS
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