AUTOMOTIVE | INTERIORS AND EXTERIORS
IMAGE: RÖCHLING
Röchling Automotive goes big on bio-material
The time is right for PLA compounds to be taken up in automotive applications, says Röchling, which is talking to carmakers about using the bio-based polymer. By Peter Mapleston
Main image: Prototype front grille closures in Röchling Bio- Boom PLA compounds
Automotive Tier One Röchling Automotive has made a major commitment to its future use of plastics derived from renewables. In October, it announced that with its Röchling-BioBoom materi- als, it is the first company on the automotive market to have a patented polylactide (PLA)-based biopolymer that consists of at least 90% renewable raw materials. “In this way, the company offers an ecological and economical alternative to most conventional materials such as polyester (PC, PET, PBT) but also polystyrene (ABS), polyolefins (such as PP) and polyamides (PA6),” it says. BioBoom materials are said to show significant improve- ments in terms of thermal stability and chemical resistance compared to standard PLA. Röchling says BioBoom enables greenhouse gas emission savings that are about 70% percent higher than those of PP and almost 90% higher than those of PA6. “This means that if the proportion of petrochemical plastics in a mid-sized car is replaced
by Röchling Automotive’s bioplastics, 515kg of CO2 emissions can be saved per vehicle production.” According to European Bioplastics, production
of 1kg of PLA involves the production of 500g of CO2
. That is around 18 times less than it takes to make 1kg of standard polyamide. “We see our
30 INJECTION WORLD | November/December 2020
development as a game changer for plastics in automotive applications,” says Fabrizio Barillari, Senior Product Manager, Battery Components & Biopolymers Global. Röchling hopes that it will be possible to use BioBoom for almost the entire product portfolio of Röchling Automotive. Around 70% of the com- pany’s product portfolio is now ready to be offered in BioBoom, says Barillari. The company’s main interest is in under-the-hood parts, including air induction systems, active aerodynamics, battery components, and also beauty covers. But it is also interested in more high-visibility parts. Röchling has been working on development of compounds based on bioplastics for durable applications since 2007/8, when it embarked on a project with an Italian compounding company. It began reaching out to automotive OEMs around five years later, but at the time, OEMs did not see the advantages of using such materials. “Times have changed, the time is now right,” says Barillari. “Feedback from OEMs around the world is now positive. The general public is much more aware of issues such as carbon footprints and global warming, and regulations are also taking the argument forward.”
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