New Borcom™ polypropylene from Borealis offers significant weight savings for interior automotive applications

Borealis has launched a new Borcom™ microcomposite, the first generation of a new polypropylene (PP) product family designed to bring significant weight reduction to a range of interior automotive applications. Based on an innovative PP base resin with 10% selected micro-scale filler and utilising advanced compounding technology, Borcom WG 140AI can provide weight savings up to 8% compared with traditional 20% mineral filled PP compounds used by the industry.

According to Robert Füreder, Marketing Development Leader, Borealis Engineering Applications: “We have developed Borcom WG 140AI microcomposite to help the automotive industry meet the challenge of vehicle weight reduction in order to lower fuel consumption, thereby reducing the impact of exhaust fumes on the environment and at the same time providing a running-cost benefit to the consumer. Typical applications for which the new microcomposite presents itself as an ideal replacement material for climate control housings, airducts and side trims in low pressure moulding.”

This Borcom microcomposite shows increased impact improvement on current materials at comparable stiffness. It also offers better flowability for easier processing and its close shrinkage compared with alternative materials makes it compatible with existing tools. The new microcomposite is easy to colour and available as self-coloured material.

With its micro-scale filler, Borcom WG 140AI not only contributes to lower part weight and costs and overall vehicle weight reduction, it also delivers savings on materials handling, transport and storage.