In the development of automobile lightweight, "plastic strip steel" has become one of the important trends, among which polyamide (that is, nylon), which is the first of the five major engineering plastics, is widely used in the powertrain system and cooling system of traditional fuel vehicles with excellent high temperature resistance. Taking the engine as an example, the temperature difference around the traditional automobile engine reaches -40 to 140 ° C, and the nylon with good long-term temperature resistance can play a role in lightweighting, cost reduction, noise reduction and vibration reduction.
However, with the deepening of the global goal of "carbon neutrality", in addition to lightweighting, the development process of vehicle electrification has also begun to press the acceleration button. In terms of the Chinese market, in 2021, the sales volume of new energy vehicles will reach 3.521 million units, and the market share will increase to 13.4%. Referring to this, the industry generally believes that the goal of "20% sales penetration rate of new energy vehicles by 2025" mentioned in the "New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan" is expected to be achieved as soon as this year.
In the field of new energy vehicles, what kind of development prospects will nylon materials usher in? Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, what new requirements do new energy vehicles put forward for the application of nylon materials? How are industry-related material manufacturers responding to and meeting market demands? A few days ago, Gaz Auto had the honor to interview Meng Yinliang, commercial director of Domo Chemical China, a leading manufacturer of nylon materials in the world, and he had a detailed discussion on the above issues and the layout of Domo Chemical itself in nylon materials.
Domo Chemical, a global manufacturer of nylon materials; Image source: DOMO Chemical
Under the goal of carbon neutrality, new opportunities and new changes in nylon materials
Mr. Meng first pointed out that after decades of development of traditional fuel vehicles, whether it is a powertrain system or a cooling system, the development and application of nylon materials in it have been very mature. In contrast, new energy vehicles with a short starting time are more urgent for the application of nylon materials.
"Now most of the new energy vehicle manufacturers and Tir1 have a very urgent need for the application of nylon materials, and we need our raw material suppliers to provide some better solutions." Despite the urgent demand, Mr. Meng also realized that the requirements of new energy vehicles for nylon materials have also undergone great changes.
He analyzed and pointed out that based on the development characteristics of electrification and intelligence, the application requirements of new energy vehicles for nylon materials, the most important changes are reflected in two aspects: flame retardant and corrosion resistance. In terms of flame retardancy, the demand for nylon materials in traditional fuel vehicles is heat resistance, that is, to provide a primary flame retardant performance; while new energy vehicles have very high requirements for the flame retardancy of nylon materials because they involve the core "three electricity" and a large number of electronic and electrical components. In terms of corrosion resistance, the higher intelligent experience of new energy vehicles also means that they need to use more sensors, circuit boards, semiconductors and other precision components, and traditional engineering plastic materials contain a large number of free ions, which will produce a certain corrosive effect on these components.
Flame retardant properties of DOMO Chemical TECHNYL materials; Image source: DOMO Chemical
"To meet these new demands, nylon materials must be modified to add some new properties, for which DOMO Chemical has launched a range of solutions." According to Mr. Meng, in the protection facilities of new energy vehicles with high voltage electricity, DOMO Chemical has launched TECHNYL orange materials and has cooperated with most of Tir1; in reducing the free ions of the material to improve the corrosion of precision components, it has launched TECHNYL PURE products, and the number of free ions in such products can be controlled at a very low level. In addition, considering the huge differences in the working environment and working methods between the cooling system of the new energy vehicle battery and the cooling system of the traditional fuel vehicle engine, Domo Chemical has also developed a material that is different from the traditional fuel vehicle cooling system.
In terms of R&D products, DOMO Chemical is working on welding with other materials such as metals and polypropylene for the application of power battery housing materials. Mr. Meng pointed out that the modified nylon material has good flame retardant performance and coloring performance, which is very suitable for new energy vehicle battery packs, battery management systems and motor systems.
Dowmer Chemical TECHNYL material lightweight properties; Image source: DOMO Chemical
In addition to the above new application needs, returning to the lightweight trend itself, under the global "carbon neutrality" goal, the application of new energy vehicles to nylon materials is also more urgent. Studies have shown that for every 100 kg of weight reduction of a car, the fuel consumption of fuel vehicles can be reduced by 0.3-0.6L, and the mileage of new energy vehicles can be increased by 6%-11%. This is undoubtedly of great significance to new energy vehicles, because the cruising range and battery weight are still a pair of contradictions in new energy vehicles, and the application of nylon materials solves this problem invisibly.
Based on this, nylon materials have become an excellent choice for new energy vehicles, and it is based on this that this engineering plastic, which is widely used in traditional fuel vehicles, is expected to shine in the field of new energy vehicles. Huaan Securities research pointed out that each new energy vehicle battery pack needs about 30kg of engineering plastics to calculate, it is expected that the plastic demand for battery packs alone will reach 360,000 tons in 2025.
With the acquisition of Solvay's European business, Domo Chemical's globalization strategy has accelerated
In the face of the broad market scenario in the future, as a manufacturer of nylon materials, Domo Chemical has already begun a series of layouts, the most representative of which is the acquisition of Solvay Europe's high-performance polyamide business in February 2020, and Domo Chemical successfully incorporated TECHNYL under its command.
DOMO Chemical brings TECHNYL under its wing; Image source: DOMO Chemical
For this acquisition, Mr. Meng said that Domo Chemical has regarded engineering plastics as a core industry for long-term development from the first day of entering the engineering plastics industry. "In fact, before the acquisition of Solvay, we acquired a number of other engineering plastics manufacturers in 2013 and 2015 respectively, and the acquisition of Solvay's high-performance polyamide business in Europe in 2020 should be a right decision at the right time." He also said that globalization is an important direction for the development of Domo Chemical, so it is not excluded that in the next few years, Domo Chemical will have some new investment and capacity upgrade plans in the global market.
With the acquisition of Solvay's high-performance polyamide business in Europe, one of Domo Chemical's main goals was to globalize it. According to Mr. Meng, in order to cope with the challenge of globalization after the completion of the acquisition, Domo Chemical has made great adjustments in organizational structure and personnel management, and introduced an advanced digital management system to promote business development and promote the globalization process from all aspects of production, research and development, sales, etc. At present, all the work is being promoted in an orderly manner.
It is worth noting that under the acquisition agreement, UNTIL February 2022, DOMO Chemical will only produce and sell TECHNYL within the European Economic Area and Switzerland, but from February 2022, DOMO Chemical's TECHNYL product line will be open for production and sales worldwide. This move is undoubtedly an important milestone for Domo Chemical's globalization process.
For Domo Chemical itself, the biggest advantage of technyl products opening up to the world is that in the next few years, DOMO Chemical's sales in Asia, the Americas and other regions will usher in a substantial increase. "According to the long-term plan, by 2026, Domo Chemical will add about 50,000 tons of nylon engineering plastic sales outside Europe, accounting for more than 20% of the group's turnover." Mr. Meng said.
It is reported that in order to achieve the above goals, in April this year, Domo Chemical will expand its production capacity by 6,000 tons on the basis of its existing plant in China. In addition, investment in its new plant is also underway, the new plant is scheduled to break ground this year, and is scheduled to be fully relocated in the third quarter of 2023, the production capacity is expected to reach 50,000 tons, which will significantly increase the production capacity of Domo Chemical.
In addition, for the entire nylon industry, The global layout of Domo Chemical, especially in China and the Asian market, will bring more and better choices to the entire downstream enterprises. It is understood that the current global consumption of ordinary nylon 6 with cost advantages and production capacity advantages is 2 times that of high-performance nylon 66 and special nylon, and in the future, with the expansion of upstream raw material enterprises including Domo Chemical in terms of production capacity, the cost of nylon 66 is expected to usher in a sharp decline.
Mr. Meng pointed out that after the comprehensive takeover of Domo Chemical, it will regain the technical advantages and service advantages of the TECHNYL brand. For example, in the automotive market, TECHNYL continues to be the preferred choice for major OEMs around the world; in the electronic and electrical appliance market, expand UL-certified materials and lay out emerging markets such as photovoltaics and 5G; and in the consumer goods industry, in the context of expanding domestic demand, we will work with customers to develop products that are more in line with market demand.
It is worth affirming that under the promotion of the globalization strategy, Domo Chemical's global performance in 2021 has significantly exceeded expectations. For 2022, Mr. Meng admitted that under the influence of the situation in Russia and Ukraine, Domo Chemical is facing a relatively big challenge - the impact of European natural gas prices. "Natural gas is a very important energy supply for upstream raw materials, and the price of natural gas in Europe may already be more than 10 times the historical level now, which leads to very high pressure on our cost side." In markets outside Europe, Domo Chemical will increase the localization of upstream raw materials to enhance cost advantages.
Summary: As Mr. Meng said, "The acquisition of Solvay Europe's high-performance polyamide business in 2020 is a decision made by Domo Chemical at the right time", then, in February 2022, DOMO Chemical will open the TECHNYL product series to the world for production and sales, and it is a precaution in the current complex international situation, which will have a profound impact on DOMO Chemical, downstream enterprises and the nylon industry.