Automotive sustainability: LANXESS at JEC World 2022

LANXESS is bringing its electromobility and sustainability experts to JEC World 2022, where the Cologne-based specialty chemicals company will be presenting a fully bio-based composite material based on flax and polylactic acid.

A biocomposite that harnesses recycled Tepex, the material is the first representative of the Tepex Scopeblue product series. The company hopes to showcase its strategy of phasing out fossil raw materials and establishing material cycles from its production processes.

Dr Dirk Bonefeld, Head of Global Product Management and Marketing for Tepex at LANXESS, said: “Using new series applications as an example, we want to underscore what opportunities our continuous fibre-reinforced Tepex composites open up in the construction of highly stressable but lightweight structural components for electric vehicles. Thanks to its thermoplastic matrix, it is highly suited to reuse as quality-assured recycled compounds for injection moulding.”   

LANXESS will be showcasing a front-end support and a battery tray as series applications of Tepex in electromobility at the Paris event. The hybrid-moulded, PP-based Tepex dynalite 104-RG600 front-end support is being installed in a new luxury sedan from a US manufacturer of electric vehicles. The injection moulding stage of process integrates numerous functions in the component and thereby reduces the subsequent effort involved in assembly.  

The battery tray belongs to a fully electric luxury vehicle from a car manufacturer based in southern Germany. The component is based on PA 6 (also produced via hybrid moulding) using Tepex dynalite 102-RG600 and the highly reinforced compound Durethan BKV60H2.0EF.

Bonefeld added: “Tepex was the material of choice because it is inherently flame-retardant, unlocks potential for lightweight design and provides opportunities for functional integration. In addition, the insert made from Tepex does not need to be protected from corrosion unlike an equivalent made from sheet steel.”  

The Tepex Scopeblue biocomposite is particularly lightweight due to the low density of the reinforcing continuous flax fibres. Its weight-specific stiffness is comparable to that of the equivalent glass-fibre reinforced material variants. It can be produced to a level of quality suitable for large-scale production in applications such as sporting goods, interior automotive parts and housing components for electronics, according to Bonefeld.

LANXESS can confirm ongoing work on a number of recycling concepts for its composites, including life-cycle analyses for Tepex so that users can identify the carbon footprint of their component. 

Additionally, LANXESS will also be showcasing at JEC its new Tepex Flowcore composites for compression moulding. These are recyclable, more ductile alternatives to thermoset sheet moulding compounds (SMCs).  

Then Cologne-based specialty chemicals company does not stop there, however. LANXESS will also be presenting a ‘world’s first carbon smartphone’, an ultra-thin and ultra-lightweight electric skateboard, and an extremely lightweight running shoe.  

JEC World will take place from 3-5 May at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre.