INTERIORS AND EXTERIORS | AUTOMOTIVE
There is even a Green NCAP now starting up, which will give star ratings on environmental aspects, just like EuroNCAP gives star ratings on safety aspects. The Green NCAP green vehicle assessment programme is hosted and supported by the New Car Assessment Program in coopera- tion with European governments. Today, in the EU, there are no regulatory minimums on use of “sustainable” materials in automobiles, but Barillari says Röchling sees it coming, possibly as soon as 2025. “We see Europe at the forefront of this trend.” Plus, automobile companies themselves are making noises about wanting to be carbon neutral by anytime from 2030 to 2050. Plastics are likely to play an important role in making such goals attainable. Röchling BioBoom materials are at least 90% bio-based. It is not economically feasible at the moment to go beyond this amount, says Barillari. “We took PLA, the most available and genuine biopolymer and converted it, in collaboration with a compounder, into three grades suitable for automotive applications, one with particularly good high temperature resistance, one with improved hydrolysis resistance, and one with particularly good strength.” [The company is understood to be using PLA from Corbion, but this has not been confirmed by Röchling.] Röchling is using conventional reinforcements and additives to tune the compounds. One compound has 10% talc, another has 10% talc and 10% glass fibre, and the third has 30% glass (see table). Röchling is also involved in early trials with compounds containing natural fibres. Barillari says the new grades can be substituted
for existing materials it uses without compromising on performance. He says they could actually perform better than some PA compounds. Röchling also has PC/ABS in its sights (which it does not use), possibly for such parts as A and B pillar trims. “PLA in its basic form is pure white, which makes
it possible to obtain aesthetics much better than is possible with PC/ABS,” Barillari says. “It is very easy to colour. It is also possible to obtain piano black surfaces without painting, thanks to the use of Variotherm-type mould heating and cooling control systems. This obviously provides cost and environ- mental benefits. Aesthetics are absolutely excellent.” For interior and exterior applications, the ability
of BioBoom to obtain piano black finishes will be important, he says, citing visible active grille shutters as an example. These are normally in polyamide or polypropylene, and require painting, but with BioBoom this may not be necessary. Röchling is in concrete discussions with several major OEMs, mostly premium brands, on produc- tion of parts in BioBoom. “We are ready, the materials are ready and validated,” Barillari says. “We have not yet reached the stage of going into mass production, but we are very near.” He expects Röchling to have its first business acquisitions before the end of this year, with SOPs possibly in 2022. “We are close to achieving our first two series orders, both for EV applications at a major OEM. One is a design element and the other are active aerodynamics parts.” �
www.roechling-automotive.com
Above:
Mechanical properties of current BioBoom grades from Röchling
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