Lanxess presents thermoplastics for automotive applications

Specialty chemicals company, Lanxess (Cologne, Germany) reported that it will present several thermoplastic application solutions based on its Tepex brand at the VDI Congress “Plastics in Automotive Engineering” (PIAE), an international event that presents the latest plastic applications in the automotive industry, and will be held virtually July 28-29. Some of these solutions include a cost-effective, single-material motorcycle tank made from PA6, an electric sports car brake pedal designed from composite materials, high-voltage batteries using continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic components and a range of charging plug products.

The brake pedal being shown was developed for a battery-electric sports car, which is around 50% lighter than an equivalent steel construction. Lanxess says the tailor-made fiber layer construction of the Tepex insert and local reinforcement using additional tapes helps the brake pedal meet all load requirements.

A further application of Tepex involves an A-pillar with a 3D hybrid design that Porsche has developed for vehicles such as convertibles and roadsters; it is being employed for the first time in the Porsche 911 convertible. The A-pillars with hybrid inserts are said to be as stable in the event of a crash as previous designs featuring high-strength steel tubes, and reduce vehicle body weight by 5 kilograms.  

Lanxess notes that Tepex also has potential in structural components and housing parts for high-voltage batteries in electric vehicles, due to flame-retardant properties. Further, the company points to the material’s cost-reducing integration of functions and simple processing.

Additionally, Lanxess has applied composites to electric mobility charging infrastructure. The Durethan polyamides and Pocan polybutylene terephthalates are mainly used for charging plugs, sockets and stations as well as wallboxes in garages and carports, and is used in inductive wireless charging systems for high-voltage batteries. “We have a broad range of compounds that feature a high level of dimensional stability and surface quality, especially for charging plugs. They are also impact-resistant and therefore mechanically robust,” says Christopher Höfs, project manager in the HPM e-Powertrain team. “In addition, our plastics are characterized by flame-retardant properties and good electrical characteristics such as high creepage current resistance.”