Based in Germany with NAFTA headquarters in Pittsburgh, LANXESS masters a wide range of high-performance polymers for demanding applications, including the automotive industry.
The materials it is developing for new forms of mobility are geared to a number of key areas, in particular electrification of the powertrain for vehicles both with and without a driver and development of the necessary infrastructures and logistics.
“LANXESS provides thermoplastics for a wide range of applications in the automotive market,” said Jose Chirino, Technical Director at LANXESS’s High Performance Materials (HPM) Business Unit. “For electric vehicles, there are a number of new challenges for us to solve. We have to look at flammability, impact protection and lightweighting requirements unique to these vehicles.”
Chirino explained that new lightweight materials and technologies help increase the range of electric vehicles. “Our lightweight materials play an important role in the vehicle weight, improving the reach of vehicles and making them safer,” he said.
LANXESS’s objectives include enabling safe driving and charging while also extending the range of batteries. Its materials could also be used in applications such as radar systems to avoid collisions or adaptive cruise control systems.
LANXESS’s HPM business unit offers key industries around the world a wide range of engineering plastic compounds and is supported by global production facilities and an R&D network. Worldwide, more than 1,600 employees are working for HPM at 13 locations.
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