Plastics as Drivers of the Mobility Revolution – Exhibitors at K 2025 Demonstrate This

From lightweight construction and electromobility to closed material cycles – K 2025 will show how the plastics industry is supporting the transformation of the automotive industry in many different ways. Exhibitors from all areas of the value chain will present innovations that make mobility lighter, more efficient and more sustainable.

This part 2 of our article series highlights how exhibitors at K 2025 are picking up on these developments and taking them further. In part 1, you read where and how plastics are used in cars – and what they do there. 

Less weight means less energy consumption – a rule of thumb that applies more than ever in the automotive industry. Modern fibre-reinforced plastics are increasingly replacing aluminium or steel components today, offering additional advantages.

ENGEL focuses on hybrid solutions and lightweight components that can replace metal components. 'Our focus is on material substitution with lightweight components made of fibre-reinforced plastics that can replace aluminium components,' says Dr Gerhard Dimmler, CTO at ENGEL. The clearmelt process also enables components to be coated with polyurethane directly in the injection moulding process – an alternative to painted sheet metal parts that improves surface quality and scratch resistance.

SABIC is also demonstrating with its new MEGAMOLDING™ platform that large-format thermoplastic parts can be an economical alternative to metal and thermosets. Whether battery housings, truck components or structural parts – the process saves weight, simplifies production and opens up new design freedoms.

With the boom in electric mobility, the demands on materials and components in vehicles are increasing. Components must be electrically safe, flame-retardant, durable and often particularly compact.

ALBIS addresses these requirements with materials that achieve a creepage current resistance of up to 600 V. 'For such applications, we offer material solutions with a creepage current resistance (CTI) of up to 600 V, among other things,' explains CEO Horst Klink. At K 2025, the company will be showcasing wall boxes that combine flame resistance, weather resistance and light diffusion, among other things.

With its 'bumper to bumper' approach, Envalior takes a holistic view of the powertrain. 'Engineering materials have the potential to be an important enabler for the next phase of electric mobility,' says Tim Arping. At the trade fair, the company will be presenting Pocan® PBT for high-voltage connectors – with 600V CTI, halogen-free flame retardancy and high hydrolysis resistance.

The fewer components, the more efficient the production. Function integration is therefore a key factor in modern vehicle construction. Plastic solutions can combine several tasks in one component – from mechanical stability and heat dissipation to protective functions.

'An important trend is functional integration, in which plastic components perform multiple tasks, thereby improving efficiency in the installation space,' says Dimmler. SABIC is also adopting this approach: MEGAMOLDING enables the consolidation of components, facilitates assembly and paves the way for easier disassembly and recyclability.

The new EU End-of-Life Vehicles Directive sets ambitious targets for the use of recycled materials and the recyclability of vehicle components. Many exhibitors are responding to this with material innovations and closed-loop systems.

MOCOM is presenting several examples at the trade fair, including PIR PC/PET compounds and polypropylene with recycled carbon fibre. 'As the market leader in high-quality recycled compounds that are competitive with virgin materials, we believe we are already well positioned in this area,' says Kurt Maschke, Senior Director Global Business Development Automotive at MOCOM.

ALBIS is also pursuing this path with a broad portfolio of PCR and PIR materials, chemically recycled polymers and biopolymers. Which of these will meet the ELV requirements in the future will be decided in the coming years.

Exhibitors agree that electrification, sustainability and new mobility concepts will also be the major topics in Düsseldorf. ENGEL expects ‘valuable impetus for new partnerships and joint developments along the automotive value chain.’

SABIC sees the trade fair as an opportunity to show how new materials enable 'sustainable mobility, especially in the field of electric vehicles, and circular design'.

And MOCOM wants to demonstrate at its stand 'how modern plastic solutions make mobility more sustainable, lighter and safer'.

In Part 1, we showed where plastics are used in vehicle construction, what functions they perform and what trends are driving the industry. If you missed this overview, you can read the article here!

One thing is clear: K 2025 will not only showcase the latest technologies – it will also make it clear that the mobility transition would be unthinkable without plastics.