Innovation

DRIVER FOR SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS

POLYTEC consistently focuses on innovation to enable the development of sustainable, efficient and future-proof products. Whether it is logistics boxes and reusable plant trays in retail or advanced thermal management systems for electric cars in the automotive industry – the company uses proven know-how for new product solutions in various application fields. In addition, groundbreaking approaches to recycling underscore POLYTEC’s assertion of actively contributing to the establishment of a sustainable circular economy. Embracing new developments in sustainability, POLYTEC strengthens its market position and makes an important contribution to resource conservation and efficiency.

Highly automated production will ensure the consistently high quality of the functionally built plant trays.

RECYCLABLE PLANT TRAYS: ROBUST AND SUSTAINABLE

Making trade in plants much greener with a new solution for reusable containers

In Europe alone, 500 million single-use plant trays end up as waste every year, with a recycling rate of only about 50 percent. To ease this ecological problem, renowned partners from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France and Norway launched the Euro Plant Tray initiative for industry-wide utilisation of reusable transport packaging in the “green industry”. The initiative includes a Europe-wide call for tender, in which POLYTEC prevailed with a highly innovative concept. Series production of the new reusable plant trays starts in 2025 at POLYTEC’s site in Ebensee, which has extensive experience in manufacturing logistics boxes.

Sustainable in every way

Production of the trays in Ebensee is carbon-neutral and they are designed for more than 100 usage cycles and a service life of at least ten years. Afterwards, they can be recycled and used for the production of new trays. This concept for reusable containers could potentially save up to 40,000 tonnes of plastic waste, or more than 3,000 waste disposal loads per year – a significant step towards increasing sustainability in trading plants. Additional benefits: thanks to integrated canals and openings for irrigation, the plants’ water supply can also be ensured during transportation. And the well thought-out design facilitates stacking, unstacking and handling.

Production and recycling

The products are made using a stateof-the-art production facility in Ebensee. Two fully automated lines guarantee precise and efficient production, including in-mould labelling: during production, the trays are already fitted with RFID, 2D data matrix and barcode labels, allowing their seamless integration into automated logistics processes. At the end of their useful life, the trays will be collected, returned to Ebensee and recycled into new containers.

Close development partnership

POLYTEC collaborated closely with Euro Plant Tray in the development of the reusable plant trays. Industry-specific requirements, which had a significant influence on the trays’ design and functionality, were jointly defined.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER FROM POWERTRAIN TO THERMAL MANAGEMENT

For many years, POLYTEC has successfully been working on the development of complex powertrain solutions for combustion cars. Now, the company increasingly also uses this expertise for electric vehicles.

From a technological perspective, electric cars are far less complex than vehicles with conventional combustion engines. In one area, however, requirements are even more demanding: in thermal management. This is because batteries, electric motors and other components of electric cars have to operate within very limited temperature windows to maximise their efficiency, performance and durability. This, in turn, requires complex system solutions, which POLYTEC has supplied to European OEMs in the combustion segment for many years. These systems are characterised by their ability fulfil numerous key tasks, including crankcase ventilation and oil separation, in a limited space. Developed over decades at POLYTEC, this know-how can also be transferred to innovative solutions for electric cars.

Innovation from experience

POLYTEC focuses its development activities in this area on thermal management solutions which control the heat flows in electric vehicles. Here, like in the powertrain of combustion cars, there is a clear trend towards integrated systems that save weight and space, make servicing easier, prevent leakages and reduce costs while at the same time increasing reliability. Over the past years, POLYTEC has already developed thermal management products for electric vehicles for series applications, including oil lines and oil containers. The big challenge here is to map the complex functions of a thermal management cycle in a highly integrated module. In this way, both the assembly space and costs can be significantly reduced.

Small parts, big effect

POLYTEC’s highly integrated thermal management system combines essential functional elements such as valves, pumps, sensors and heat exchangers in a single module. This combined solution enables precise temperature control of the battery, electric motor and passenger cabin, increases efficiency, and reduces the number of required parts and interfaces at the same time.

LIGHTWEIGHT CONSTRUCTION: NEW CAPACITIES IN CHODOVÁ PLANÁ

Since 2023, modern LWRT technology has been applied in production at the plant in Chodová Planá. A new contract is now leading to a substantial capacity expansion.

The POLYTEC GROUP’s plant in Chodová Planá, Czech Republic, has focused on manufacturing products from lightweight reinforced thermoplastics (LWRT) since 2023. This technology was introduced due to the planned production of components for premium vehicles of a German manufacturer.

At the end of 2024, POLYTEC received another major new contract, which makes a significant expansion of the plant in Chodová Planá necessary. This is because the project requires not only major production capacities but also increased speed: after all, approximately 9,000 components will run off the production line daily. To be able to meet these requirements, a second state-of-the-art LWRT line will be installed by the end of 2025. It comprises a new 800-tonne press, a highly modern oven and a fully automated assembly line.

WHY LWRT?

LWRT (lightweight reinforced thermoplastics) is a light, multi-layer sandwich material offering considerable advantages compared to conventional materials such as polypropylene: lower weight, better acoustic, thermal and mechanical properties, form stability and much more.

SMC RECYCLING: LIGHTWEIGHT DESIGN WITHOUT ANY COMPROMISE

Sheet moulding compound (SMC) is a thermoset fibre composite with many benefits and has been a key primary material in the lightweight construction industry for decades. Based on a new process developed by POLYTEC, it is now supposed to become recyclable.

Components made of SMC are light, stable, heat-resistant, flame-retardant and dimensionally stable. They allow virtually unlimited freedom of design and can reach four times the specific strength of steel in some application forms. In addition, SMC achieves surface quality according to the Class-A standard. All of these properties make this material the first choice for many applications when it comes to lightweight solutions for mobility.

SMC expertise by POLYTEC

POLYTEC has positioned itself among the leading experts in SMC processing over the past decades. Together with its customers, it develops tailored SMC semifinished products, which are precisely tuned to specific requirements. POLYTEC’s research departments continuously develop new SMC formulations including styrene-free variants, or variants providing shielding from electromagnetic radiation or improved heat resistance. At the same time, POLYTEC consistently optimises its manufacturing methods, thus further expanding the scope of application of SMC. For example, component areas subject to particularly high loads can be reinforced by partially integrating carbon, glass or natural fibres.

Pioneer in SMC recycling

With all its benefits, SMC has one considerable disadvantage: its disposal. Currently, there are hardly any established recycling solutions, which is why the material usually has to be thermally recycled, i.e., incinerated. However, this is about to change. In a newly developed process, POLYTEC reintroduces At the site in Gochsheim, far more than 200 SMC formulations are applied for the production of different fibre/matrix combinations. 35 POLYTEC 2024 | INNOVATION spent SMC to the production process, without having to compromise on quality. Specifically, this process makes it possible to manufacture goods in which recyclates account for up to 25 percent of the weight, thus allowing for much more resource-friendly production

Outstanding material properties

First trials, jointly conducted with customers, where recycled SMC was used in the production of outer skin components, already demonstrated that the material properties do not change in comparison with new goods and are consistent with the series standard in terms of load capacity and surface quality. The production process also remains largely unchanged, enabling smooth integration into existing production processes.

Countless possible applications

Recycled SMC could therefore soon be utilised on a broad basis. In doing so, not only the company’s own scrap material can be reused, but also components from wind turbines, boats or aircraft. In this way, a sustainable material cycle, where used components can be turned into new products, can be created – without any loss in quality.

Investments in SMC processing

Over the past years, POLYTEC made targeted investments in further developing its SMC capacities. Most recently, the SMC production facility in Gochsheim was modernised and an AI-assisted small component plant was put into operation. Digitally assisted, this plant not only manufactures proven semifinished products for the entire POLYTEC GROUP; new, groundbreaking material combinations are also created continually. A so-called digital twin, which digitally maps all processes and dependencies of the existing facilities and allows very precise data analyses along the entire production change, supports employees at this site in the efficient operation of semifinished goods production. In addition, every SMC coil can be continuously traced by a designated system, thus permanently ensuring quality. Overall, process stability has thus also been significantly enhanced at the site.

With its SMC expertise and its new recycling process, the POLYTEC GROUP is positioning itself in a market with substantial growth potential that extends far beyond the automotive industry. Customers are showing great interest in these innovative recycling solutions. And POLYTEC is convinced that SMC will play a central role in the sustainable production of lightweight components.