In the current trend of the development of the automobile industry, the materials used by automobile enterprises are facing new challenges, but also bring new opportunities.

The emergence of electric mobility and autonomous driving technology will revolutionize the automotive industry and challenge the current established concept of cars. Only through continuous innovation can trends such as emission reduction, electrification and autonomous driving become a reality.

The modern automotive industry already relies heavily on material solutions provided by the chemical industry. And, in the future, chemistry will play an even bigger role and make a significant contribution to solving the challenges of future mobility.

Safety first: BASF flame retardant Plastics

The success of electric mobility depends on whether you can continuously optimize the performance, weight, safety and above all efficiency of the electric drive system.

Flame-retardant plastics must be used in order to save the weight and installation space required for high-voltage components. Special specifications of polyamide (PA) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) produced by BASF can be used as halogen-free flame retardant materials for high-pressure components inside and outside vehicles to meet the relevant performance requirements, with the highest standards of flame retardancy, color stability, mechanics and electrical insulation.

In addition, the inherent insulation properties of these materials contribute to the safety performance of the vehicle. Basf has a portfolio of polyamide 6 and 66 specifications that provide safe and reliable microelectronic components for control devices and sensors, thereby helping to prevent electrical corrosion damage to circuits.

BASF Ultramid®, which has been selling well for many years; EQ products (EQ means "electronic quality ") are very pure and contain almost no electroactive or corrosive substances such as halides. In addition, the material has excellent heat aging properties.

Today's electronic drive systems are still mainly dependent on the metal industry to provide related products. To date, motor and power electronic component manufacturers are still using housings made of steel or die-cast aluminum.

Many components now have active cooling properties that no longer require heat dissipation through the housing. Therefore, the light structure can consider the use of flame retardant Ultramid® Plastic solutions such as A3U42G6 and B3U50G6 specifications.

Enclosures containing high voltage electrical components must be electrically shielded to prevent damage to the surrounding area. Basf is committed to providing metal coating solutions for plastic housing components that provide good shielding of magnetic fields.

In addition, engineering plastics help to integrate various additional functions into the components. In pre-development projects with our customers, we have found that plastic housings made using this process are lighter and more economical than similar die-cast aluminum housings.

Sensors are essential for autonomous driving

In addition to electric mobility, highly automated driving will also revolutionize the future of mobility. The inside of a driverless vehicle is the user's second bedroom.

The vehicle will be equipped with a variety of sensors to ease the user's driving task. Basf has made significant contributions to several sensitive electronic sensor technologies with its unique portfolio of hydrolyzation-resistant PBT specifications.

However, as autonomous driving technology continues to evolve, we will also need to equip our cars with a whole new range of sensors such as radar, liDAR, infrared and ultrasonic sensors.

These sensors can not only provide lane assistance, collision warning and distance control, but also provide emergency braking assistance, which is a basic prerequisite for fully autonomous driving in the future.

Only when plastic is used can such solutions be mass-produced. Basf offers radar-optimized plastics for radar wave transmission and absorption, helping to improve the accuracy of radar sensors, thereby improving the functionality of autonomous vehicles with greater cost effectiveness.

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