Solvay says it taking a leadership role in the development of the Polimotor 2 all-plastic automotive engine to be tested in a race car next year, demonstrating the company’s “unique and industry-leading advanced specialty polymer technologies in light-weighting through metal replacement”.
The company claims the collaborative project will ultimately set the stage for innovative breakthroughs in future commercial automobiles. Polimotor 2 aims to develop an engine weighing about 90 lbs (41 kgs), or 40% less than today’s standard production engine weight of 138 to 148 lbs (63 to 67 kgs).
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Solvay also says it is a leader in specialty polymers materials for the automotive industry, which is increasingly “relying on the company’s ultra-resilient materials solutions to replace metal parts in exterior, interior and underhood applications to enable the industry to comply with tougher fuel and emission regulations”.
“The Polimotor project is yet another pioneering opportunity for Solvay Specialty Polymers to bring its innovations to the forefront and to expand its lightweighting offerings,” said Augusto Di Donfrancesco, president of Solvay’s Specialty Polymers Global Business Unit. “Through this partnership we will further challenge our boundaries, showing all the more that our high-performance polymers are solutions in reducing weight and lowering fuel consumption, and that they are a key contributor in diminishing CO2 emissions.”
In Polimotor 2, Solvay will replace up to ten metal engine components – including the water pump, oil pump, water inlet/outlet, throttle body, fuel rail, cam sprockets and others – with parts made from seven of its high-performing thermoplastic materials.
The Polimotor 2 four-cylinder, double-overhead CAM engine will ultimately be installed in a Norma M-20 concept car in 2016 for competitive racing at Lime Rock Park, Conn.
