This year, BASF is presenting a broad range of sustainable plastic solutions showcasing the company’s dedication to creating plastics for a circular economy.
Amongst the solutions on show will be mass balanced products that promote resource conservation through the use of circular raw materials instead of fossil raw materials, and offer a reduced CO2 footprint. Such products are already being used, for example, in the bow door handles of the Mercedes-Benz S‑Class and the EQE. In addition, the concept has now also been adopted for the production of crash absorbers for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
As well, a range of innovative eMobility applications will be showcased, including charging solutions, high-voltage connectors and bus bar holders. In focus as well are battery components meeting high-performance and safety standards during normal use but also in the case of damage or accidents. Therefore, any material needs to be carefully assessed by its flame retardancy, electric isolation, thermal conductivity and cooling compatibility.
The company is also presenting its entire range of polyphthalamides (PPA) that meet growing customer needs for metal replacement applications, providing constant mechanical properties at high continuous-use temperatures and colour matching in sectors like e-mobility, fuel cell, electronics and electric (E&E) as well as mechanical engineering. Ultramid Advanced grades will be on display that enhance the robustness, long-term performance and reliability in harsh conditions also of coloured, flame-retardant parts – from eMobility orange to appliance white. For metal replacement in structural parts, e.g., in consumer electronics, BASF offers several PPA grades with excellent stiffness, dimensional stability and good surface finish plus easy processing.
BASF will also be showing its Ultramid Ccycled material, derived from chemically recycled feedstocks and a mass‑balanced product that supports the use of alternative raw materials from the chemical recycling of plastic waste. The recycled raw material is fed into the beginning of the BASF production Verbund and attributed to Ultramid Ccycled products via a mass‑balance approach. Since Ultramid Ccycled has the same quality as the conventional product, this polyamide is also ideally suited for highly regulated applications such as food packaging. In addition, BASF is also involved in projects investigating the mechanical recycling of materials, to wit, the coextruded PE/PA film structures that have been considered mechanically recyclable since the autumn of 2022. Based on the studies conducted by Institute cyclos-HTP GmbH, the Stiftung Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (Central Agency Packaging Register) has reclassified the recyclability of polyamides in the minimum standard. This is an important first step towards incorporating the benefits of polyamide-containing packaging and the latest findings on the recyclability of polyamides into the legal basis. As a major producer of Ultramid extrusion polyamides for multilayer films, BASF is involved in projects for the objective categorisation of polyamides in flexible packaging applications.
The company’s new Elastollan BMB, a certified biomass balanced thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) delivering the same performance as standard TPU grades will also be exhibited. Biomass-balanced Elastollan is identical in formulation and quality to conventional fossil products. Its production process is certified by an independent certification body. As an application example for Elastollan BMB, BASF is demonstrating a flat hose that can be used, for example, in agriculture, industry or for water transport.
Finally, BASF will be launching its Pacific platform at the show, an app that makes it possible to exchange product carbon footprint data across the entire automotive value chain, enabling the PCF of finished products to be calculated based on the PCF of the raw materials - quickly and easily.