More materials for electric vehicles

Dätwyler will seek to strengthen its competencies in the development and production of new materials for use in the electromobility sector. To this end, the industrial group based in canton of Uri has launched a new project by the name of ETEMI, further details of which can be found in a press release. The aim here is to create an in-house materials matrix for mobility applications. The scope of the project will cover conventional elastomers through to liquid silicon rubber (LSR) and thermoplastics.

The company is planning to offer the “full potential of system critical sealing components” for hybrid and battery electric vehicles. The new materials should then facilitate innovative manufacturing approaches for electric vehicles. For example, the thermal management of a battery for electric vehicles could in future be partly controlled via the sealing material, while weight reductions could also be achieved through the use of new materials.

In order to drive forward the ETEMI project, Dätwyler has also expanded its capabilities, the press release states. For example, the company has strengthened its in-house expertise in the area of mixing of specialist compounds. Moreover, it has also used new technologies in its labs, allowing the company to ensure that its compounds comply with the requirements laid down in various regulated norms.

“Projects such as ETEMI are generally undertaken at an academic level – focusing on a single challenge or use case”, explains Hediyeh Zahabi, Material Development Manager at Dätwyler, in the press release. “By taking the initiative in-house and leveraging our material expertise, we are able not only to create, test and analyze a wide range of new materials based on emerging new mobility challenges, but also to apply our strengths on the industrial side of the business to ensure those materials can move from the laboratory to large scale serial production quickly and efficiently”, she adds.