EVs, sustainability dominate materials trends | Plastics News

For materials makers at Fakuma 2024, sustainability and electric vehicles were as popular as schnitzel and fries.

Those were the major topics on the materials beat at the event, held Oct. 15-19 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Materials firms talked about new projects and new or improved products in those end markets.

Increased interest in recycled PVC has led compounding firm Benvic to double capacity for that material at a plant in France. When completed early next year, the plant will have annual PVC compounding capacity of 15 million pounds. The plant recycles rigid PVC scrap into recycled-content resin that's then used in conduit and other applications.

In a similar approach, Asahi Kasei Corp. is on pace to open a pilot chemical recycling unit in Japan in 2025. The Tokyo-based firm has developed a microwave-based method of recycling nylon 6/6 into its adipic acid and HMD feedstocks. The resulting material could be reused, resulting in 50 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions.

On the new materials front, Radici Group launched a family of bio-based nylon resins under the Bionside brand name. Bionside is part of the Radilon-brand nylon 6/10 product line for Bergamo, Italy-based Radici. The new resins use castor oil seeds as a raw material. Applications for Bionside include cooling line connectors, cooling pipes and vacuum brake booster hoses. Officials said the new materials have excellent chemical resistance.

Other materials for sustainability or EVs in focus at Fakuma included:

• Hostaform/Celcon ECO-C acetal from Celanese Corp. Officials said these are the first acetals made from low-carbon ISCC CFC-certified methanol. Low-carbon methanol, generated at a Celanese plant in Texas, makes ECO-C acetal the firm's lowest product carbon footprint acetal copolymer. The material retains the inherent characteristics of acetal, such as high stiffness, thermal stability and wear resistance.

• Zytel ECO-R nylon introduced by Celanese. This recently introduced line of nylon 6 and 6/6 resins incorporates post-industrial recycling feedstocks. Celanese also introduced electrically friendly (EF) formulations based on its Zytel nylon resin. Officials said these new solutions give manufacturers of vehicles and electronic devices more latitude to incorporate creative designs.

• Syensqo highlighted a specialty grade of Amodel PPA resin for electric vehicles. Officials said the flame-retardant grade is ideal for high-voltage battery pyrofuses. Other EV-related materials from Syensqo included a Ryton PPS resin for laser welding and recycling in electric actuator housings and Ajedium PEEK film, which enhances the efficiency of electric motors.

• In sustainability, Syensqo showcased its ECHO portfolio, a line of sustainable solutions featuring bio-based, recycled and mass balance-certified raw materials. The Brussels-based materials firm was formed in 2022 when it was spun off from Solvay.

• In addition to its recycling project, Asahi Kasei promoted sustainable grades and applications of its Xyron polyphenylene ether and Leona nylon materials. Both are used in a thermal cooling hose aimed at the EV market. Officials said that application will be commercialized in China next year. Xyron also is being used in EV battery housings, where officials said its properties make it good for thermal management.

Frank Esposito is a Wickliffe, Ohio-based senior reporter for Plastics News. Follow him on X @fesposito22.

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