Plastics have become an indispensable part of automotive engineering. Up to one quarter of the materials in today's modern mid-sized vehicles are polymer-based, and most of these are used in the body and interior panels. The variety of the plastics in these applications is also large, a total of up to 150 different polymers are used in automotive engineering. What they all have in common is that they enable more cost- and resource-efficient manufacturing, while making cars lighter and thus more fuel efficient.
Because the European Commission agreed to stricter CO₂ limits in new cars and small trucks and vans in early 2019, every gram counts when it comes to helping reduce vehicle fuel consumption. As a general rule of thumb, reducing vehicle weight by 100 kilograms can result in an average reduction in fuel consumption of 0.3 liters per 100 kilometers. The increasing use of fiber-reinforced composites, plastics fortified with glass or carbon fibers, will help automakers meet future requirements. European automakers were forecast to use roughly 47,000 metric tons of processed carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics in 2019, for example, and in 2020 that figure was expected to rise to around 59,000 metric tons.
These composite materials, as they are called, can be used for producing components in which the stability is comparable to that of conventional metal parts, yet weigh less and are significantly more efficient to manufacture. Automobile manufacturers and suppliers can use VESTALITE® products from Evonik's Business Line Crosslinkers to produce customized, cost-effective, high-performance fiber composite components whose excellent surface characteristics and outstanding mechanical properties make them suitable replacements for steel and aluminum. In addition, the processing of these materials can be carried out efficiently. Automakers make innovative use of VESTALITE® products in areas such as roofs, hoods, trunk lids, and wheel rims, as well as in components for new drive and mobility concepts.
Evonik Crosslinkers – Creating Bonds That Last
Evonik Crosslinkers combines expertise in isophorone chemistry and epoxy curing agent technology to support customers worldwide in coatings, adhesives, civil engineering, high-performance elastomers, and composites.
Our isophorone portfolio spans the entire value chain, including specialty amines, isocyanates, and aliphatic monomers. Backed by integrated production and deep application knowledge, these solutions help customers achieve durability, chemical resistance, and weatherability in demanding applications.
Creating bonds that last, both in materials and in customer relationships, is the principle that guides our innovation, production, and technical support.
