The transformation from the combustion to the electric engine entails several imponderabilities for the plastics industry. In part, electric drives have completely different material requirements which are becoming specifically evident with the increasing use of appropriate vehicles.

In electric vehicles, the change in engine technology also entails new requirements for the plastic materials used

Flame Retardancy, Heat and Tracking Resistance of Electric Vehicles

Elektromotoren

Antriebe

Kfz-Elektronik

Elektronik

Elektromobilität

Mobilität

Kunststoffe

Photonik

Optik

Polyamide

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Thermoplaste

Elektronische Bauelemente

Leistungselektronik

Technische Kunststoffe

Hochleistungskunststoffe

Drivers of Electromobility

Replacing metal with polyamides (PA) in components can not only reduce weight and costs, but also offers developers greater design freedom. However, this requires materials with improved mechanical properties.

 A 3-point bending test showed that the maximum necessary  work of fracture for Ultramid XP grades which exceeds that of comparable PA6 and PA66 grades

16:9

Special Polyamides 6 Match the Properties of Polyamide 66

Metal Substitution with Improved PA

Teknor Apex presents three halogen-free FR glass-reinforced polyamide compounds with UL94 ratings of V0.

Application example: engine cover in the automotive industry

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

Faserverbundwerkstoffe

Andere Werkstoffe

Glass-Reinforced and Halogen-Free Flame-Retardant

Electrical architecture in an E-car is significantly more challenging than for conventionally powered vehicles. Particularly for insulation of high-voltage (HV) components, the demands on the materials used are increasing. With specially-tailored materials for electric vehicles, challenges in automotive high-voltage technology can be overcome.

Insulation of high-voltage components in electric vehicles makes high demands on the materials used

Polyamide Specialties for Electromobility

High Voltage in Cars

Premium-quality automotive interior surfaces are becoming increasingly important from the customer’s point of view. This insight prompted Asahi Kasei to develop its Leona SG series of semi-aromatic polyamides (PA), which the Japanese group will be presenting at this year’s trade show Fakuma.

Automotive interiors require materials with good mechanical properties that will also produce premium-quality surfaces

Messe Fakuma

kunststoffe-international.com

Superior Surface Quality in Automotive Interiors

Most of the energy in a crash is absorbed by metal parts. A new additional polyamide (PA) crash absorber has for the first time been integrated into the front end of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The advantage is that an additional loadpath could be added without significantly increasing the mass of the car.  Close cooperation between the project partners and the use of suitable simulation tools were key to successful realization of this project.

As part of the safety concept in the front end of the latest S-Class, Mercedes-Benz uses a crash absorber made from polyamide.

Crash Absorbers made from PA for the Front End Carrier of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Kfz-Sicherheit, passiv

Kfz-Systeme

Kraftfahrzeugtechnik

Accident Protection with Plastics

Electric-vehicle makers looking for fresh impetus are turning to thermoplastics, as these can be used to  improve the safety, performance and sustainability of the vehicles. Initial application areas for manufacturers can be found in a multitude of components ranging from battery cases to busbars, cooling lines and seals. Things become very interesting when material suppliers offer support in the form of CAE and injection molding analyses.

Thermoplastics play an important role in the batteries of electric vehicles. They help to keep battery temperatures in the optimal range for a long service life and high performance. 

Improving the Performance of Electric Vehicles with the Right Materials

Electric, Environmentally Friendly, Thermoplastic

The conditions in electric vehicles place high demands on the materials used. Therefore, automakers and suppliers must resort to expensive, high-performance plastics. For many applications, cost-effective alternatives are plastics whose properties have been greatly improved by means of treatment with high-energy electron beams.

Fig. 1. Crosslinked engineering plastics can be used for many different applications in electric vehicles.

Irradiation Crosslinking Replaces High-Performance Plastics with Cheaper Polymers

Strahlenvernetzung

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Electron Booster for Electric Vehicles

Car manufacturers are reluctant to use bioplastics. There is a lack of experience with them. A research project has now compared bio-based PAs with fossil PAs.

Bio-based PA is produced from castor oil seeds, among other things.

Biokunststoffe

Werkstoffprüfung

Messtechnik

Can Bio-PA Replace Conventional PA?

Sustainability is also increasingly in demand for technical applications. More environmentally friendly PA variants are now available on the market.

Sustainability is also in increasing demand in technical applications.

Kunststoffe, biobasiert

Polyamides with Higher Sustainability

Fakuma 2024 review: highlights in the materials sector

At first glance, the model looks like a standard skateboard. The exciting part is hidden inside.

Polyetherketon

Masterbatches

Additive

Polyoxymethylen

Farbstoffe und Pigmente

Streifinger, Florian

kunststoffe.de

Polysulfone / Polysulfide

Sustainability Is Becoming  Less Important

PAs are often stabilized with copper- or halogen-containing additives in automobiles. Polymeric amines can be an alternative with fewer disadvantages.

The conditions in the engine compartment of electric vehicles are different from those of internal combustion engines. This presents opportunities not only for new materials, but also for other additives.

Stabilisatoren

Durable Even without Copper  and Halogens

PA particle foam (EPA) has better properties than conventional polymer foams. Components made from EPA can also be overmolded with PA.

The relatively large-volume EPA core (left) can be overmolded. This extends the design freedom and enables large-volume but comparatively lightweight components (right).

Schaumspritzgießen

Spritzgießen

Schaumstoffe und Vorprodukte

Partikelschäumen

Schäumen / Reaktive Verarbeitung

Schaumstoffe

Overmolding PA Foam with PA

Air suspension systems are increasingly being used in cars. In production, metal can be replaced by plastics – if the material is suitable.

Air suspension systems are much more common in electric vehicles than in those with a combustion engine.

Dämpfer / Federn

Maschinenelemente

Mechanische Konstruktionselemente

Sprung with Air, Engineered with Plastic

With wide-ranging and specific property modifications, plastics can take more and more applications away from classic metal components. Polyamides and polyphthalamides, in particular, also are extending the performance spectrum, as two new variants show.

Fig. 1. Grivory G5V has significantly better mechanical properties between 60 °C and 100 °C than the familiar Grivory GV

Two New Polyamide Grades Will Make Engineering Components More Cost-Effective

Progressive Metal Replacement

Easy-Flow and Heat Stabilized Polyamide 6

The Chinese automotive manufacturer Geely will in the future use a polyamide 6 (PA6) from Lanxess for front-end (FE) carriers in its vehicles.

The component’s design concept is a hybrid design solution going beyond the traditional square/rectangular form FE structure. While the lower cooler mounting is in sheet metal, the complex upper member was developed using the highly filled and heat stabilized Durethan BKV50H2.0 EF, a material well suited for structural components that require high stiffness and strength. The full plastic design for the upper section caters to a wide range of requirements of this multi component assembly. As stated in a press release, using high modulus thermoplastic material also provides a cost effective solution.

Lanxess engineering plastics are designed to support customers in achieving maximum component performance and efficient processing. To meet these objectives, the company established the Pocan and Durethan EF and XF product lines, a broad range of easy-flow polybutylene terephthalates (PBT) and polyamide 6 and 66 grades. “EF” stands for “EasyFlow,” “XF” for “XtremeFlow.”

Apart from thermoplastics, Lanxess offers experience concerning design and simulation methods, part evaluation and testing. According to the company, its experts actively contribute their engineering know-how to customer projects. HiAnt, the integrated service package for lightweight solutions, aims to help the customers achieve maximum performance while minimizing weight. To pursue optimized design, mathematical simulation methods are outstanding instruments for the design and optimization of parts and they deliver fairly accurate statements on part behavior. When it comes to making a definitive statement on the functional capability of parts, however, it is generally still necessary to conduct practice-oriented tests on prototypes. For this reason, most OEMs prescribe stringent corresponding acceptance tests and specifications. Lanxess has a test laboratory and can offer an extensive range of testing facilities.

Geely Holding Group is a global technology group engaged in the design, R&D, production, sales, and service of vehicles, powertrains, and key components, as well as mobility services and digital technologies. The technologies comprise new energy, shared mobility, vehicle networks, autonomous driving, vehicle microchips, low orbit satellites, and laser communication.

<a href="http://www.lanxess.com" target="_blank">www.lanxess.com</a>

LANXESS Deutschland GmbH  

https://www.lanxess.com

The front-end carrier for vehicles by the Chinese manufacturer Geely will be made of a PA6 from Lanxess in the future. © Lanxess

2022-03-22 Produkt_Lanxess

issue 05/2025

issue 04/2025

issue 03/2025

Contact

Journal

Media Data

Subscriptions

Subscription

Subscription Cancellation

My Login

Imprint

Terms & Conditions

Terms and Conditions

Privacy Policy

Mobility

Packaging

Medical

Electrical/Electronics

Plastics Recycling

Lightweight Construction

Applications

Thermoplastics

Standard Thermoplastics

Engineering Plastics

High-Performance Plastics

Elastomers

Thermosets

Additives/Masterbatches

Bioplastics

Composites

Materials

Injection Molding

Extrusion

Additive Manufacturing

Further Processing Methods

Compounding

Composite Processing

Peripheral Equipment

Simulation

Processing

Research & Development

Dissertations

Patents

Journal of Plastics Technology

Italy

Switzerland

China

Türkiye

Country Specials

Career at HANSER

HANSER Fachbuch

HANSER eLibrary

HANSER eSolutions

HANSER eCampus

HANSER Corporate

HANSER Literaturverlage

Publisher offers

FORM+Werkzeug

HANSER automotive

QZ Qualität und Zuverlässigkeit

WB Werkstatt + Betrieb

More Technical Portals

Online Archive

Newsletter

Publisher

Zu Kunststoffe wechseln

Service Menu

linkedin

News

Products

Partners & Associations

Organ

Business Directory

Galleries

Gallery

Whitepaper

Plastics Discovery Tour

Fakuma

Multi-User License

FACHARTIKEL_2025, FACHARTIKEL_2024, FACHARTIKEL_2023, FACHARTIKEL_2022, FACHARTIKEL_2021, INTERVIEWARTIKEL_2025, INTERVIEWARTIKEL_2024, INTERVIEWARTIKEL_2023, INTERVIEWARTIKEL_2022, INTERVIEWARTIKEL_2021

kuint

You already have a subscription? Simply <hanser-login-link>log in/register</hanser-login-link> and continue reading!

Hanser Customer Center

Prices include VAT, plus possibly shipping costs

Practice-oriented technical information from the comfort of your home

Just <hanser-login-link>log in/register</hanser-login-link> here and continue reading!

<strong>You want to read more?<br> To continue reading this content please log in or register for the Hanser Customer Center.</strong>