Intelligent chemicals are the future for sustainable vehicles - Lanxess

ERJ staff report (LMH)

Leverkusen, Germany -- Chemical company Lanxess has said intelligent chemical materials are a must if “we are to achieve sustainable mobility and maybe even the zero-emissions car.”

In a 13 Sept news release, Dr Werner Breuers from the company said he expected that in a few years time people will be sitting in vehicles “whose environmental credentials, efficiency and performance are shaped to a large extent by innovative materials.”

He noted that Lanxess's rubbers can be used to produce fuel-saving, low rolling resistance tyres.

“We have developed special-purpose rubbers and rubber additives that help cut the rolling resistance of tyres by up to 30 percent without having a negative impact on their wet grip and service life,” commented Breuers.

Reducing rolling resistance to this extent cuts the fuel consumption of a passenger car - with a petrol engine and average fuel consumption of 10 l/100 km - by half a litre per 100 km and its CO2 emissions by 1.2 kg per 100 km, Lanxess claimed in the news release.

The company said it expected this contribution will rise significantly in the future, because global growth in mobility is forcing national legislators to push the use of “green” low rolling resistance tyres to protect the environment.

“We expect that the share of these high-performance tires compared to normal tires will rise by 77 percent by 2015. They will soon be standard in Europe,” said Breuers.

This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Press release from Lanxess