The greatest challenge is to obtain a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emission. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has recognized this and set appropriate targets. By 2008, the Association wants to bring down CO2 emission to 140 g/km at present it is still over 160 g/km. Automobile manufacturers are following two basic strategies to achieve this ambitious aim. They are working on new, improved drive concepts and also paying greater attention to the subject of lightweight construction.

There is no lack of ideas on how to tackle environmental problems. Fuel cells, hybrid units and electric motors are currently being tested or are already in use. There is also progress with eco-friendly energy sources: hydrogen, natural gas and biodiesel, for example, offer alternative options to fossil fuels and also cost advantages in view of the high world market prices for crude oil.

There are 800 million vehicles on the roads worldwide. Experts predict that this number might even double by 2030. In view of this and the diminishing oil reserves, increasing focus is being directed towards alternative drive concepts. The greatest attention is being paid to fuel cell technology, which is judged to offer the best prospects for the future. The automotive industry is already testing this ecofriendly energy source in numerous prototypes. By 2010, the first fuel-cell-powered cars should be ready for commercial production with valuable assistance from engineering polymers.

High fuel prices, official requirements to reduce CO2 emissions while simultaneously enhancing road safety and passenger comfort these are the issues that are driving the automobile industry and continually leading to new advances. And at the same time there is great pressure to cut costs. That is why many car manufacturers are increasingly committing themselves to the use of new materials, which also highlight the innovative potential of the entire plastics industry. Frank Reil, Head of Automobile Market Development at Ticona, describes how high-performance plastics will have a lasting influence on automobile construction.

Mr. Reil, the European automobile industry has undertaken to reduce the average CO2 emissions per vehicle to 140 grams per kilometer by the year 2008. How can this goal be achieved?
Reil: It is to be achieved in five phases with the following main objectives lightweight construction, an optimized combustion engine, alternative fuels with a neutral CO2 balance, hybrid drives and fuel cells all contributing to a gradual reduction in CO2.

How will that work? Will phase one be tackled first, then ...
Reil: No, of course that is not the plan! All the phases will be tackled simultaneously. People are already working hard on all these points, as otherwise we couldn’t possibly meet the 2008 deadline. But there will be a time delay until these measures fully affect the environment. Lightweight construction measures are already having a direct effect today. A car that weighs 100 kg less needs roughly half a liter less fuel to travel 100 km. But there is still some time to go before fuel cells become established as alternative sources of energy and have a lasting effect.

When you say lightweight construction do you really mean finding substitutes for metal components?
Reil: Metal replacement is always one of the aims but primarily it is a question of smart solutions that bring us closer to our overall objective of emitting less CO2 into the atmosphere. For example, in close cooperation with a component supplier we have developed our Fortron® PPS so that it can be used for blow molding turbocharger air pipes. Thanks to Ticona’s high-tech material, they are now more than 40% lighter then the light metal solution, which was made from aluminum. Let me quote another example that shows an even higher rate of reduction if we succeed in introducing Fortron composites, which are already used in aircraft construction, into the seat structures of vehicles, for example, then the component weight could be reduced by up to 50%.

So what does the decision to make a material substitution really depend on?
Reil: There are three decisive criteria: Firstly, it is a matter of saving weight, and therefore reducing emissions. Secondly, cost-beneficial production and assembly techniques must play their part in cutting costs. And thirdly, it is a question of implementing innovations that secure competitive advantages. Engineering plastics fulfil all three criteria, so they are used to replace heavier metal materials that are often also expensive if you take production and energy input into account. The superiority of high-performance polymers is shown even under tough conditions, at high temperatures, in contact with aggressive fuels or when subjected to extreme impact stress.

Let’s talk about engines. How does an optimized engine produce less CO2 emissions?
Reil: The CO2 emissions from diesel fuel are about 30% less than from gasoline. So it is only logical that research is going on to increase the efficiency of the diesel engine. In many cases that can be achieved by a turbocharger, but that has consequences that cannot possibly be ignored: The materials used are subjected to higher pressures and therefore also higher temperatures. At the same time we have to take greater flow rates into account, so we need materials that can stand up to all these conditions. As they have the further advantage of reducing weight, high-performance polymers from our wide range of products are being utilized increasingly frequently.

Which polymers?
Reil: Well, let’s take fuel feed units made from Hostaform® POM, grade XF, which is already used in many applications, and is not only resistant to aggressive fuels but can also stand up to high temperatures. There is a risk of electrostatic charge accumulation due to the continually growing proportion of plastics in fuel systems, so the automobile industry is developing material regulations on the electrical conductivity of components that come into contact with fuel. Our electrically conductive Hostaform ESD, modified with steel-, glass fibers or conductive carbon black, is available now and has already been used successfully in a number of applications.

Let’s look even further into the future. Automobile manufacturers are experimenting with a variety of new drive systems. The latest successful example is Toyota’s hybrid engine, which was awarded an Environmental Prize by a German automobile association, the Verkehrsclub Deutschland, in June. What role do engineering plastics play here?
Reil: A reduction of approximately 20% in CO2 emission can be achieved by using a hybrid engine in a vehicle, as the combination of an electric motor and gasoline engine results in major fuel consumption savings. High-performance polymers such as Fortron and Vectra® LCP play an important role in this. Their arc resistance, outstanding heat resistance up to 240°C and inherent flame retardancy are vitally important in successfully introducing high-performance electrical components, for example a complex circuit board made of Fortron 1140 L4.

But hybrid engines are surely not the end of the line in the development of environmentally friendly cars
Reil: Hybrid engines are more than just an interim solution. By 2003 there were already more than 80 000 such vehicles on the road worldwide. Currently, the most exciting major innovation is fuel cell technology, on which all the major car makers, and of course also Ticona, are working intensively.

What is so special about it?
Reil: Fuel cells use hydrogen as their energy source. In contrast to oil, this element can be obtained without using a finite raw material. This has seemed especially relevant over the last few months, when people have been thinking more about high oil prices and shrinking oil reserves. Investments in this technology will bring unbeatable competitive advantages in the near future. Another benefit that this technology brings is that there are no CO2 emissions in the process for converting hydrogen to electrical energy. However, we do need an adequate infrastructure and a regenerative means of producing hydrogen in order to stay CO2 free. So what once seemed utopian is now within reach the zero-emission car.

The first fuel-cell cars are already out on the road. But they are still too heavy for mass production.
Reil: True. But our plastics are also coming into their own here in reducing weight and cutting production costs. We are on the right track for lower-cost mass production.

To what extent?
Reil: Let’s look at the bipolar plates, one of the crucial components of the fuel cell. Among other things, they are used to dissipate potential, and nowadays they can be injection molded from Vectra LCP and Fortron PPS extremely rapidly and cost-beneficially, as the cycle time is only 10 seconds. These new plates replace old ones made of milled graphite or of stainless steel coated with expensive gold, so there is a weight reduction. The Ticona plastics also have the advantage that they permanently enhance the performance of the fuel cells. The material has no problem in resisting the aggressive media that interact in the fuel cell. Furthermore, engineering polymers are corrosion-proof and retain their shape, even at temperatures of up to 240°C. This also applies to peripheral units around the fuel cell stack, in which Ticona materials such as Fortron, Hostaform and Celanex are used today.

When do you think the first fuel-cell car will be mass-produced and affordable for broad segments of the population?
Reil: Probably as soon as 2010: Opel has just announced this timeframe, and other car makers are forcing the pace of development too. It has been estimated that about 100 000 such vehicles will be on the road in Japan in six years’ time. Fuel cell technology is coming, and it will revolutionize the way we build cars.