With the rise of the electric vehicle (EV) and the unmanned vehicle industry, the automobile industry will start a great change since 2018. The great changes in the automotive industry will undoubtedly challenge the chemical industry, because the chemical industry must develop new materials to support and promote the development of electric vehicle and automatic driving technology. Facing these challenges, the global enterprise giants believe that the automotive industry revolution is more likely to be a threat to the chemical industry.
The car manufacturers put forward new requirements
In order to meet the increasingly stringent environmental requirements, the whole car industry is turning to the field of electric vehicles. All attempts to lower manufacturing costs, electric vehicles driving farther, longer life cycle car manufacturers: Volvo has announced that all its new models in 2019 will be supplied with electric engine, public and General Company also plans to provide battery drive options for its brand.
The changes in the automobile industry have new requirements for the upstream chemical industry. IHSMarkit said that by 2030, one of the world's two new cars would be a hybrid electric vehicle or a plug - in electric vehicle, about 45% of the total. With the change of vehicle design, production volume and manufacturing technology, the chemical industry must innovate according to the changes of its largest end-user market to meet the new demand.
There will be a big change in market demand
With the development of electric vehicles, the demand for some chemical products may change dramatically. Due to the change of hood and fuel system components, intake manifold, lower crankcase, engine cover and radiator end cover will be eliminated in electric vehicles, and the demand for antifreeze and oil products will drop sharply. In this way, the demand for high density polyethylene, nylon, and other engineering plastics for fuel tanks and engine covers will decline. But as the content of the vehicle's electronic components increases, the demand for insulated foam and wire / cable will increase. At the same time, the new charging equipment needs materials with high dielectric strength and flame retardancy. IHS estimates that the development of electric vehicles may reduce the annual demand for engineering plastics by 270 thousand tons, and increase the annual demand for thermoplastic polyester by 20 thousand tons.
One of the most prominent manifestations of the future automotive industry revolution is the growth of lithium demand, which is determined by the expansion of lithium ion batteries. IHSMarkit said lithium ion batteries accounted for only 35% of the world's lithium demand in 2015 and up to 62% by 2020. The lithium demand for electric vehicles will rise from about 35 thousand tons in 2017 to about 200 thousand tons in 2023, and the annual growth rate will reach 41%. Other materials will increase significantly. IHS estimates that from 2017 to 2023, global graphite demand will increase by 30%. As another important component of Li ion battery, the price of cobalt has increased by 70% in 2016.
Enterprises need to provide solutions
The chemical industry is fearless in the face of these changes. OliverEyrisch, director of the company, said that for the chemical industry, the automotive industry revolution is both a threat and an opportunity, but in general, opportunities are far more than threats. "On the one hand, electric vehicles use less active components, thereby reducing the demand for lubricants and polymers. On the other hand, the improvement of the electric drive system can be solved by the material solution. New additives with better heat transfer ability have aroused great interest. Eyrisch said that evwin provided the multilayer pipeline system for the cooling line of batteries and motors of electric vehicles, and the structural system needed for heating, ventilation and air conditioning applications.
"To improve the thermal stability and chemical stability of the system," Eyrisch said, "more types of polymer materials are required to be tailored to these applications." Dow DuPont Co's stakeholders also said that materials for batteries, connectors, motors and actuators, sensors and wires and cables will have greater market opportunities.
At the same time, the light weight trend of the auto industry will continue. In order to meet the increasingly stringent emission standards, car manufacturers are trying to reduce vehicle weight, to reduce energy consumption. This gives a good space for the development of the chemical industry. "Even if the auto industry is undergoing a thorough revolution, the trend of vehicle lightweight will not stop," said EugenioToccalino, director of global marketing for transport and special products, DuPont Co. Because although the electrification of the automobile can help OEMs meet international requirements of energy-saving cars, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but a large battery of electric vehicles will make the car weight increase of 900 pounds." Toccalino says that there is still a huge market potential for lightweight design, and there is a need for a growing number of composite solutions.
