At LANXESS, we see new, environmentally friendly forms of mobility as a future-oriented growth segment for our Durethan® polyamides, Pocan® polybutylene terephthalates (PBTs) and Tepex® thermoplastics composites. This is based on our many years of experience and development expertise pertaining to plastic components for the automotive, electrical and electronic industries. Our strong knowledge and innovative mindset drives our ability to support the most recent solutions when it comes to future mobility.
Interview with Dr. Michael Zobel, Head of Business Unit High Performance Materials, LANXESS about New Mobility.
Question: Mr. Zobel, LANXESS has defined New Mobility as a strategic issue for itself. Where do you see the opportunities for Engineering Plastics?
Michael Zobel: New Mobility – as we call it – offers opportunities in three very interesting development areas. The first is e-mobility, the new powertrains in cars, whether hybrid vehicles or purely electrically powered cars.
On the other hand, in the area of infrastructure. If you consider how many cars and trucks will drive more or less electrically worldwide in the near future, then you have to ask yourself about the necessary infrastructure. There is a great deal of dynamism in this area today, with many different approaches to charging vehicles.
Another exciting field is autonomous driving. It will certainly take years for us all to be able to drive comfortably from A to B – without a chauffeur and without any action on our part. But we are already quite familiar with the requirements placed on our materials in the three fields, and some of the solutions in our portfolio have been tried and tested for years.
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Question: How will the market develop in this area over the next 5-10 years?
Michael Zobel: We can already see today how the regulatory efforts in the industrialized countries have resulted in an unbelievable dynamic. In addition to the established manufacturers of motor vehicles and their suppliers, we are observing how a whole series of very innovative start-ups are establishing themselves around these topics. A whole new scene of young companies is emerging here, working on exciting solutions to many New Mobility issues on all continents.
We believe that this dynamic will continue. The politicians have formulated very challenging framework conditions here, to which the OEMs have now adjusted and are now rebuilding development and production at great expense. A large number of new developments will be seen on this path in the coming years.
Question: What contribution can LANXESS make to New Mobility/e-Mobility?
Michael Zobel: Thanks to our many years of experience in the areas of lightweight construction materials and electronic and electrical engineering applications, we can develop our materials to precisely meet customer requirements. That’s what benefits us today in New Mobility. We already have materials in our portfolio that meet many essential requirements. From increased thermal conductivity to flame retardancy for parts subject to high thermal stress. Or take the hybrid vehicles. These have hardly any installation space available, as they also have assemblies for the electric drive in addition to the classic combustion engine. The important thing here is to make optimum use of this space and integrate functions. We know our way around in this area. Here, our engineers can provide assistance in designing the components in such a way that all requirements can be met.
Question: What is LANXESS doing to stay ahead in this dynamic environment?
Michael Zobel: We made contact with the main players in the three fields of New Mobility described above at an early stage. We learned a lot from these discussions, not only about the changed demands placed on plastics, but also about where the thoughts and developments are going. Here we did not stop at our direct customers, but went through the entire value chain. From these discussions, a large number of projects have now developed which we are jointly leading to series production. This is not a one-off process, but we remain in regular contact. All in all, this has led to a very comprehensive and detailed understanding of our customers’ requirements for our materials, with which we are now well equipped to actively accompany further development.
NEW MOBILITY SOLUTIONS AND APPLICATIONS
NEW MOBILITY IS NOT JUST HYPE FOR LANXESS
*Source: Statista.de
We master a wide range of high-performance polymers for demanding applications. The materials we are developing for new forms of mobility are geared to a number of key areas, in particular electrification of the powertrain for vehicles both with and without a driver and development of the necessary infrastructures and logistics. We are also working on new lightweight materials and technologies, including to help increase the range of electric vehicles. Our lightweight materials play an important role in the vehicle weight improving the reach of vehicles and making them safer.
With 36,000 charging stations, the amount in Germany will enormously increase until 2020. And even the market volume for autonomous driving systems will double until 2025. The worldwide production of electric vehicles will increase by about 4,3 million until 2025.
Objectives include
Extending the range of batteries
Our materials could also be used in applications such as radar systems to avoid collisions or adaptive cruise control systems.
WHAT IS QUALITY FOR LANXESS?
Quality means producing high-performance products that deliver what they promise.
At LANXESS, quality means much more: we live quality. It’s at the very heart of our work. We want customers to be able to rely on us fully in all matters and at every stage of cooperation. From the first conversation to the perfect implementation. Fast, simple and efficient – fully in line with our motto “Energizing Chemistry”.
For us, quality also means assuming responsibility for the environment and society, as well as creating value together. With high quality standards that apply worldwide for products, processes and technologies, LANXESS helps to protect the climate and the environment and to improve people’s quality of life.
Our mission in everything we do. And at the same time our pledge to our customers. For mutual success and a sustainable future.
More Quality Stories on https://quality.lanxess.com
” Thanks to our many years of experience in the areas of lightweight construction materials and electronic and electrical engineering applications, we can develop our materials to precisely meet customer requirements. That’s what benefits us today in New Mobility. We already have materials in our portfolio that meet many essential requirements. “
” We made contact with the main players in the three fields of New Mobility described above at an early stage. We learned a lot from these discussions, not only about the changed demands placed on plastics, but also about where the thoughts and developments are going. Here we did not stop at our direct customers, but went through the entire value chain. “
QUALITY SUPPORTS
The value-enhancing combination of customized, high-tech plastics and extensive engineering know-how is a key performance pledge by LANXESS’ High Performance Materials business unit. We offer our customers an all-round service named HiAnt® in order to provide the best possible support. This combination ensures that our materials are used to their maximum potential in order to meet customer needs.
The HiAnt® brand represents the engineering expertise as part of an integrated service portfolio. This includes five service areas that cover the entire development chain from raw material to finished component in series production.
Get further information about the HiAnt® Service on https://hiant.lanxess.com
QUALITY SUSTAINS
We also understand quality as meaning that we operate responsibly and sustainably in the broadest sense. We strive to combine safety, environmental protection, social responsibility and commercial efficiency in our business operations. This is summed up not least by the sentence “Good for business, good for society.” At LANXESS, we regard sustainable thinking and action as the responsibility of each and every employee and an integral part of our corporate culture.
Corporate responsibility and
sustainable business relations reflect our
understanding of quality
QUALITY CONNECTS
CONTACT
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Or contact us also via e-mail: durethan-pocan@lanxess.com
WHO WE ARE
The LANXESS Business Unit High Performance Materials (HPM) offers key industries around the world a wide range of engineering plastic compounds and is supported by global production facilities and an R&D network. Worldwide, more than 1,600 employees are working for HPM at 13 locations. Thanks to efficient and competitive production plants, HPM today is a leading supplier of thermoplastic high-performance polymers.
Our polyamide 6 and 66 grade families Durethan® and Pocan® offer various potentials for growth and innovation. At our production sites in Belgium, Germany, Brazil, China, India and in the USA, we produce Caprolactam, Polyamide 6, Polyamide 66, Glass Fibers and Polybutylene Terephthalate in world-scale plants.
With our Tepex® grade family we produce high performance composite laminate systems made with thermoplastic polymers. The innovative combination of continuous reinforcing fibers with thermoplastic polymers results in exceptionally high strength and rigidity, coupled with extremely low weight.
Tepex® enables cost-effective parts fabrication processes suitable for mass-production, especially in combination with injection molding.
