Solvay Wins Three Awards for Specialty Polymers
Three Awards for Solvay Specialty Polymers
Three e-mobility applications using Solvay specialty polymers ranked among the winners of the prestigious Automotive Awards from The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) in 2021. The awards comprised first place in the 'New Mobility' category for a magnet wire insulation in KetaSpire® PEEK, second place in the 'Enabling' category, and third place in the 'Powertrain' category for a cooling fluid line using Ryton® PPS.
Georges Houtappel, Vice President Transportation at Solvay, states: "We want to congratulate our customers who developed these applications and brought them to market, demonstrating the total cost, performance and sustainability benefits achievable from our specialty polymers in demanding e-mobility systems and components."
"Following more than 20 years of enabling the design and production of high-performance and cost-effective applications for internal combustion engines, the superior innovation potential of our materials for lightweight design, metal replacement and enhanced sustainability now extends to e-mobility applications such as e-motors, batteries and power electronics."
• New Mobility Category Award, First Place – Slot liners injection-molded by Cobraplast, Italy, for one of Germany's leading automotive manufacturers, developed and molded with Xydar® G930, a 30% glass-fiber reinforced, flame-retardant liquid crystal polymer (LCP). The part is used in the rotor design of a next-generation electrically driven traction motor where it provides a barrier between copper windings and steel lamination of the rotor.
In this small but critical application, Xydar® LCP replaces embedded multilayer films and provides significant cost and performance advantages. The material combines extraordinary flowability with zero warpage to fill thin sections of 0.65 mm over 220 mm length to meet tight tolerance characteristics. It also provides high hardness to prevent breakage during assembly.
[caption id="attachment_129335" align="aligncenter"] First place in the 'New Mobility' category of the SPE Central Europe Automotive Awards 2021: Slot liners molded in Solvay's Xydar® LCP for use as a barrier between conducting windings and the body of electric rotors. The LCP material offers significant total cost and performance advantages to replace embedded multilayer films in these applications. (Photo: Solvay, PR009)[/caption]• Enabling Category Award, Second Place – Magnet wire insulation developed by Essex Furukawa, Germany, using solvent-free KetaSpire® polyetheretherketone (PEEK). Magnet wires coated with KetaSpire® PEEK are highly efficient in reducing the weight and size of electric motors while increasing power density and torque. The specialty polymer offers thermal performance to 240°C and dielectric strength of 197 kV/mm along with high toughness, stress-crack resistance, long-term mechanical strength and exceptional chemical resistance.
[caption id="attachment_129336" align="aligncenter"] Second place in the 'Enabling' category of the SPE Central Europe Automotive Awards 2021: Magnet wires coated with Solvay's solvent-free KetaSpire® PEEK. The high-performance specialty polymer can significantly enhance environmental compatibility in the production of EV motors. (Photo: Solvay, PR009)[/caption]• Powertrain Category Award, Third Place – Cooling lines with extruded coolant tubes and injection-molded connectors in Ryton® polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) XE 3500 (unfilled) and XE 5430 (30% glass-filled), along with connectors injection-molded in Ryton® R4-270 (40% glass-filled). Ryton® PPS, which has been widely proven for cooling and ventilation lines in the high-heat environment of downsized internal combustion engines, also provides the chemical resistance, mechanical strength and flame retardancy required for battery cooling lines in electric vehicles. In these applications, the polymer is replacing lower-performance polyamides as well as metals, helping OEMs benefit from lightweight opportunities with plastics in chemically and mechanically more demanding fluid transport systems.
[caption id="attachment_129337" align="aligncenter"] Third place in the 'Powertrain' category at the SPE Central Europe Automotive Awards 2021: Cooling lines from Solvay with lightweight extruded cooling fluid tubes in Ryton® PPS and injection-molded line connectors, replacing lower-performing polyamides and metals. The material provides the advanced thermal, chemical and flammability performance required for more demanding automotive fluid transport systems. (Photo: Solvay, PR009)[/caption]E-mobility presents new technical challenges for automotive manufacturers in terms of component characteristics such as thermal conductivity, EMI protection, CTI and dielectric strength. Solvay continuously works with leading OEMs and suppliers to develop new classes of specialty polymers offering advanced performance for innovative e-motor, power electronics and battery applications, helping manufacturers improve their cost balance and reduce their carbon footprint.
The winners of the 20th SPE Central Europe Automotive Awards underscored the significant potential of Solvay's specialty polymers to optimize the reliability, lifetime, cost efficiency and sustainability of e-mobility applications. The company also operates its PEEK and PPS-based polymer production in the United States using 100% renewable energy.
KetaSpire®, Ryton® and Xydar® are registered trademarks of Solvay.
