PA66 has proved its mettle in metal replacement plastic products for combustion engine-powered vehicle, but as demand for electric vehicles increases, what is the fate of this high-temperature, incredibly robust plastic?
Electric cars
Leading provider and developer of PA66 Ascend Performance Materials is ahead of the game, with a foothold in both the combustion engine and EV camps, the latter of which Frost and Sullivan predicts will make up more than 22 per cent of passenger car sales by 2025 – or 25 million new EVs on the road per year by that point.
Currently well established under the hood of a car, as electric automotive technology proliferates, does the advantage of a high-temperature engineering plastic such as PA66 diminish?
At Fakuma, Ascend demonstrated its Vydyne R433H, which has improved energy absorption over traditional glass-filled PA66, reducing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) and absorbing impact energy from crashes. In EVs, R433H is especially good as a lightweighting material and offering NVH reduction, while it is proving especially valuable in the housings for battery frames and plugs.
Ian van Duijvenboode, Global Performance Director at Ascend, believes that instead of 25 million new EVs on the road in 2025, we can actually expect EVs to account for 35 per cent of passenger vehicle sales, so the opportunity for electrification in automotive is greater than many might assume.
“Things are changing and it’s gaining momentum,” he said.
While EVs generally command cooler temperatures than a traditional combustion engine, there are many EV applications where impressive temperature resistance is still necessary. Lithium ion batteries are only effective when working at the correct temperature, and as one of the main challenges to EV adoption is efficient charging times, a powerful charge means higher voltages and therefore very high temperatures.
“You get a lot of dual heating with a higher voltage so that is why PA66 is a major player around battery systems, and we've been very active with some EV leaders establishing ourselves working in partnership with them around battery module systems, frames, and connectors,” van Duijvenboode said.
The opportunity for innovative, flexible design in EV manufacture is an exciting prospect for van Duijvenboode, who used to be involved in automotive air vent design, and he speaks highly of brands such as Tesla that are challenging perspectives and preconceptions about electric vehicles.
“Electric vehicles now have ranges of up to 250 miles, they accelerate faster, stop quicker and their handling is superb, so now we’re not talking about adopting EVs just for the sake of the planet, but because they are exciting cars to drive.”
An electric vehicle driving experience is similar in many ways to driving a traditional vehicle, but there are some key differences, presenting unique challenges to the automotive manufacturing industry. One of the most significant differences between EVs and other cars is that they are virtually silent to run.
As van Duijvenboode explained, the sound of a car engine acts as white noise, blocking out any other noises the car might be making.
“If you take that noise away, you’re going to hear any squeak or rattle your car makes, which is why PA66 is so important as a noise insulator,” he explained
Although it is hard to predict the future of automotive manufacture, especially as autonomous vehicles – which would also be electric – are becoming a reality, van Duijvenboode is excited for the future of EV technology and the point at which EVs become as affordable as traditional cars is approaching.
“Tesla has shaken up the automotive world and it's kind of shown there’s a different way to look at cars,” he said. “They’ve taken the consumer electronics speed of thought and challenged everything - nothing is the way we did it yesterday.”
