Plastics Industry Rapidly Advances Electric Vehicle Innovation

With the rise of electric and hybrid vehicles, the auto industry is going through its biggest revolution in 100 years. Governments around the world have adopted policies to promote electric vehicles as part of their sustainability efforts, even mandating them for decades to come. As the industry continues to adapt, plastics are uniquely positioned to drive this revolution.

Plastics have played a long and important role in supporting automotive innovation, especially by making cars more fuel efficient and reducing their impact on the environment. Traditional automotive materials such as metal are hard and heavy, but plastic enables design flexibility, meets higher safety standards, and offers aesthetic options while keeping the vehicle lightweight. When properly designed, reinforced plastics can provide comparable strength and stability to metals. This malleability makes plastic an ideal material for cars.

As we look to the future of electric vehicles, plastics will continue to play a key role in advancing the automotive industry, including meeting the special needs of electric vehicles for highly durable and sustainable materials with little or no noise.

Overcoming noise and vibration challenges

A common challenge in today's cars is excessive noise and squeaks from parts made of plastic and other materials rubbing against each other. Currently, manufacturers solve these problems by manually inserting felt between the squeaking plastic parts after the car is assembled, but electric vehicles offer a new opportunity to explore material adaptations.

Electric vehicles produce significantly less noise on the outside than current internal combustion engines, and drivers and passengers alike expect a similar level of quietness inside. Without external noise to dampen squeaks and other noises from material friction, the current manual efforts to address these unwanted sounds are not enough. That's why noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) products are used to help with squeaks.

Also known as BSR products, these materials are designed to minimize squeaks at source, thereby significantly reducing, and possibly even eliminating, the need for manual handling of friction-related noise after vehicle assembly. Over the past five years, industry manufacturers have seen increased demand for NVH products to reduce the time and expense associated with applying post-production felt fixtures.

More recently, research has shown that polymers such as ABS can be modified to minimize unwanted sound while maintaining the same properties, which is key for these materials in end-use applications. Manufacturers cannot sacrifice performance characteristics for anti-squeak adjustments. As the industry continues to embrace automotive plastics, NVH has the potential to save the automotive industry time and money, but only if these polymers maintain essential performance characteristics.

Improve durability and longevity

In addition to NVH, durability and adaptability are also important properties that need to be improved as the share of plastics in automotive materials increases. Materials like PMMA already play an important role in the functionality of vehicles and will continue to be key to future functionality. The clear, scratch-resistant and UV-clear plastic is often used in rear lighting to cover reversing cameras, blind-spot sensors and other sensitive areas that could produce false readings if damaged. The backlighting capabilities of PMMA will make it useful in future fender and roof rail designs.

Another durable material that has influenced innovation is polycarbonate (PC). When combined with ABS, PC remains ductile at low temperatures, making it ideal for crash performance in safety-critical components. Materials like PMMA and PC are designed to ensure maximum performance while achieving overall design and technical goals.

Making electric vehicles more sustainable

Sustainability has become a core driver of innovation and the future of the automotive industry. The rise of electric vehicles is based on their lower environmental impact compared to cars using fossil fuels. However, research by major automakers shows that around 30% of the CO2 emissions of a car's lifetime are generated by its materials and production. Therefore, the automotive industry must focus on improving the sustainability of the materials used in these vehicles and optimizing the manufacturing process.

To achieve this, the life cycle of the car needs to be present in the industry development. Manufacturers need to start thinking about recycling paths for automotive plastics and how best to integrate materials from end-of-life vehicles into new models to make the industry more sustainable. Through the latest plastic recycling technologies, end-of-life automotive materials can be processed and reused while meeting the same quality standards as the virgin material. By investing in the reuse of these materials, the industry can create a circular pathway without compromising quality.

Plastics will continue to be at the heart of the future of the automotive industry and will evolve with the automotive industry. New materials will allow manufacturers to meet consumer demand for electric vehicles; however, they must not compromise performance and durability. This is an exciting time for the automotive industry, as demand drives vehicle and material manufacturers to innovate for the future.