VW ‘needs greater collaboration’ with elastomers industry

Nuremberg, Germany – Volkswagen wants a higher level of collaboration with developers of sustainable elastomer materials, according to Dr Marc Kreye, a polymer technology leader at the German automotive group.

At the DKT 2024 conference, 1-4 July in Nuremberg, Kreye highlighted the importance of sustainable elastomer materials for VW in meeting its decarbonisation goals, and for the automotive industry more generally.

In a paper titled ‘Trends and challenges of elastomer materials for automotive applications', the automotive components expert stressed the need for innovative material technologies for both electric and combustion engine vehicles.

While they represent a relatively small amount of the materials used in vehicles, Kreye said elastomers were of high importance for VW strategic ‘go to zero’ initiatives.

Kreye, therefore, called for increased communication between all parties involved in developing new thermoplastic elastomers and other high-performance materials for applications such as fuel lines and cooling systems.

Engagement, he said, should include discussions to identify applications and components where the content of recyclate and bio-materials could be increased most – as well as the R&D requirements of such advances.

The drive to increase sustainability will mean changes to many automotive parts, commented Kreye, adding that “it is very important to find out how much recycled or sustainable material can be placed in those parts.”

The VW presenter went on to detail promising results from a study of recycling EPDM in sealing applications, urging more cooperation between OEMs and suppliers to help increase recycling of this material.

“The topic of sustainable materials will only work if we come together in discussion and then jointly bring sustainable ideas to life,” said Kreye, adding that VW also has a responsibility to make its product requirements transparent.