As will be revealed during the forthcoming INDEX11 nonwovens show – taking place from April 12th -15th at Geneva Palexpo in Switzerland – the expanded use of fabrics in modern vehicles for the replacement of conventional metal parts is increasingly being viewed as a way of reducing the weight of vehicles.
Nonwovens already play a vital role in this, and in providing interior comfort, reinforcement, sound insulation and advanced filtration. Visitors to INDEX11 will be able to gain first-hand knowledge of the many nonwoven products currently benefiting the automotive industry.
Whilst currently accounting for a small proportion of the new cars produced globally each year – current estimates place their production at under 1% of the European annual total - HEVs differ in many ways from today’s conventional cars. They have no exhaust system, have no fuel distribution and no oil lines or oil pan. They also require fewer transmissions and smaller components which means that, in such vehicles, the established use of nonwovens for sound absorption, sealing, air filtration and other areas is not needed.
However, there are new opportunities for nonwovens as reinforcement substrates, and most probably as sensor carriers, but most of all, as battery separators.
These might initially be considered to be rather inconsequential components, but as leading nonwovens manufacturer DuPont points out:
- Typical hybrid vehicles contain between 50 and 70 batteries.
- Plug-in electric vehicles with range-extending motors have 80 to more than 200 batteries.
- Fully electric vehicles carry 150 or more.
It is hardly surprising then, that DuPont has just announced it will build a new US plant dedicated to the manufacture of nanofibre-based nonwoven battery separators for HEVs.
Japan Vilene, whose joint venture partner Freudenberg will exhibit at INDEX 11, holds a large share of the market for the separators which are a key component in nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. These are currently fitted in all mass-produced HEVs in Asia.
More than 1.6 million Toyota Prius HEVs had been sold by January 2010, while a further 200,000 Honda Insight HEVs are now on the road, so Japan can rightly be considered a leader in the field.
While sales of these vehicles have primarily been in the USA, Japan and Europe to date, it is easy to see them transferring in a big way to China before too long and it is now perfectly clear to Japan Vilene – and its European partner Freudenberg – that China represents the future of much of its automotive business – hence a new focus on building sales there.
China alone, is aiming to produce some 500,000 HEVs a year from 2011 – outnumbering by far the amount of eco-friendly vehicles the US, Europe or Japan will be able to put on the roads in the same time-frame.
This is hardly surprising, since China can now be truly considered the hub of the automotive industry.
Only five years ago, it was widely predicted that China would account for approximately 50% of automotive growth in Asia between 2006 and 2010, and that some 6.5 million vehicles would be made in the country in 2010.
This turned out to be something of an underestimate, and as automotive production collapsed in the USA, West Europe and Japan, 8.9 million light vehicles were produced in China in 2008.
China then became the world’s largest car market in 2009, when sales in the country climbed 45% and production reached 13.6 million units.
All initial estimates point to China producing 16.5 million units in 2010.
Happily, this means that the conventional car – and the nonwovens going into it – won’t be going away very soon.
Here in Europe, this market is crucially important to the nonwovens industry.
Some 63,000 tonnes of European nonwovens went into the automotive sector in 2008, and as a result of the recession, reduced to 53,000 tonnes in 2009. Pre-crisis levels of automotive sales in Europe are expected to be reached again by 2014.
For the conventional automotive industry, nonwovens will continue to vitally contribute to improving performance and comfort via:
Improved acoustic solutions.
- Efficient longer life filters.
- High-performing lightweight materials.
- Microfibres and nanotechnology.
- Value-creating solutions such as multi-layered materials
Putting the rise of HEVs to one side, the demand for carbon footprint reduction is now driving the development of cost efficient recyclable materials, biofibres and biopolymers which will be employed in the next generation nonwoven fabrics.
These are all reasons for believing that nonwovens have a very bright future indeed in the automotive sector.
Come and see for yourself at INDEX11!
