Lightweight materials will play an increasingly important role in future travel, for example, they will further extend the cruising range of electric vehicles. Covestro is a material solutions provider and has extensive experience in the global automotive industry including the Japanese market. At the Japan Innovation Center, Covestro has developed many sustainable solutions, such as low-density polyurethane foam raw materials.
It is precisely because of the innovative leadership of Covestro that Japan Textile Co., Ltd. selected it as a partner to jointly develop new polyurethane composite materials for Toyota Motor Corporation's new electric concept car LQ. Toyota Textile Co., Ltd. is an auto parts manufacturer under the Toyota Group of Japan. This material combines Covestro's advanced Baypreg®F NF technology and Toyota Textile's expertise in the field of kenaf fiber to provide a lightweight and sustainable solution. The new product is used in Toyota LQ's car door panels, which is also the first time Toyota Motor has used this material on its models worldwide.
As a hibiscus plant, kenaf grows mainly in Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, India and Africa. The kenaf fiber comes from the bast fiber of the kenaf plant. This raw material is more cost-effective and has good mechanical properties, which is receiving more and more attention. In the automotive industry, plant fiber as an alternative raw material is also attracting more and more interest.
Lightweight and strong
The weight per unit area of kenaf fiber-reinforced polyurethane foam composite material is extremely low, less than 1 kg / m2, and has high strength. Car door panels made of kenaf fiber reinforced polyurethane foam are 30% lighter than those made of traditional materials. The lighter the material, the farther the vehicle will travel after each refueling or charging.
This new composite material was developed by Toyota Textile Co., Ltd. and the Covestro Japan Innovation Center that had just been upgraded recently. Hiroki Ido, Minister of Transportation Development and Application Development, Polyurethane Business Unit, Covestro Japan Innovation Center, said: "The results of our joint development have made an important contribution to ultra-lightweight and sustainable design of automobiles, and it also shows our company Efforts to use alternative raw materials and promote the development of circular economy. "