Light driver: Borealis PP grades improve car component lightweighting

Borealis and Borouge have launched a range of polypropylene compounds in the Daplen family of PP thermoplastic olefins (TPO), and the Fibremod range of polypropylene fibre reinforced compounds.

Borealis aims to use the new compounds to improve lightweighting in cars, particularly electric vehicles, which will become more viable with lighter component materials.

Components in battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles can be redesigned for low-density PP compounds, due to lower operating temperatures compared to engines. Components such as tailgates and front end modules can be made in monomaterial polypropylenes that are not only lighter, but also more easily recycled.

And where metal and higher-cost engineering plastics were once the material of choice for structural elements, PP-based compounds can now be considered for such applications.

Nicholas Kolesch, Head of Automotive Marketing at Borealis, said: “As we explore the new frontier of electric vehicles, together with leading manufacturers and their Tier 1 partners, we are committed to developing value-creating polyolefins that enable our customers to think about the material science of cars in a different way.

“We can see the potential for fundamentally rethinking automotive design, thanks to the wealth of PP-based solutions available today, and on the immediate horizon.”

Fibremod is a long glass fibre reinforced polypropylene, with excellent fibre impregnation and flexibility for polypropylene matrices, and the production of grades in customised colours.

With its launch of new Fibremod grades, Borealis hopes to offer a lighter material for a full polyolefin tailgate module as a lower-density replacement solution for conventional metal or engineering polymers.

The Fibremod GB416LF 40 percent filler is high flow and has strong surface aesthetics, so the grade can be used for visible parts. Its sustainability is enhanced not only by its lighter weight, but by eliminating the need for one or more paint layers, or additional aesthetic parts.

Fibremod GD577SF, a new short glass fibre grade with 50 percent filler, has improved mechanical performance at higher temperatures, with good surface qualities for visible structural parts. As a potential replacement solution for demanding metal and polyamide applications, GD577SF is suited for a diverse range of exterior, interior and UTB applications, including full plastic front end modules, clutch and accelerator pedals and external mirror housing.

The Daplen polypropylene can be used for car interiors, its EE001AI has excellent mechanical properties and minimal filler content. With the similar shrinkage characteristics typical of grades with higher filler content (such as PP-T15), the new Daplen EE001AI can be used in existing tool geometries. It maintains the proven Daplen characteristics of processability and robustness in large-scale series production. Though it is a lightweight grade, it has advanced surface aesthetics, and can be used to achieve class-A surfaces free of tiger stripes and any other visible flaws typically affecting injection-moulded parts. It is highly suitable for a wide range of injection configurations and tool layouts.

Borealis will be displaying the Dapen and Fibremod grades at Mannheim Plastics in Automotive Engineering Show, March 29 -30 2017.