GE Plastics' Materials for Auto Body Panels

GE Plastics has announced the company's newest products to join the GE ecomagination* portfolio, offering the environmental and economic advantages of replacing traditional steel with Noryl GTX* resins in automotive body panels. Complementing recently launched ecomagination products including Xenoy iQ* and Valox iQ* resins, Noryl GTX resins not only reduce weight to help lower fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, but also are potentially recyclable. Further, they give designers greater creative latitude. Expanding the ability to address all phases of the product lifecycle with the introduction of these ecomagination inductees, GE Plastics reinforces its commitment to helping OEMs develop more environmentally responsible and attractive cars. Using lightweight, versatile Noryl GTX resins for on-line paintable auto body panels instead of steel can slash part weight by up to 50 percent. Less weight promotes better fuel efficiency, helping to cut both consumer expenses and greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, if every car on the road in Europe today had fenders made of Noryl GTX resins, the annual savings would equate to 530 million liters of fuel, about 650 million euro (based on 2006 average fuel prices) and a reduction of around 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The same level of savings could be achieved by taking 500,000 vehicles off the road - equivalent to all of the cars in Belgium as of 2004. Since 2001, more than 10 million cars have already been produced with fenders molded from Noryl GTX resin. Given that if a car can be built 100kg lighter, it will use 0.8 liters less fuel to travel 100km, the drivers of these vehicles have already avoided the use of 155 million liters of fuel, saved approximately 195 million euro in fuel costs, and avoided 370,000 tons of CO2 emissions. The same would be possible by removing 140,000 cars from the roads in Europe - equal to all the cars in Slovenia in 2004. At the same time, these GE Plastics resins can offer recycling options to help reuse material. WIPAG, the leading recycler for automotive plastic composites - such as two- or three-layer interior parts and painted exterior parts - can help close the lifecycle loop for Noryl* resins by taking a product made with Noryl resin (such as a front fender), removing the painted color from the part with their technology and repelletizing it. Punching scraps from production of instrument panels are separated by WIPAG's composite separation technology. The high quality recyclates of Noryl resins are being re-entered into the product lifecycle to create a new product - in the original application. By this process, WIPAG works with GE to help reduce the environmental impact throughout Noryl resin's lifespan. Further, these resins offer greater design freedom than metal, enabling carmakers to create bold and exciting shapes and configurations to attract consumer interest. "Our resins address two of the most pressing issues for today's auto buyers - cutting their fuel bills and finding a new vehicle with tremendous style and innovation," said Derek Buckmaster, global market director, Exterior Body Panels & Glazing for GE Plastics. Still another benefit for consumers is the potential to reduce insurance premiums through the use of plastic fenders. When designed in the right manner, these fenders can lower the insurance category for European vehicle owners due to their lower damage performance in low-speed insurance tests. This can represent cost savings for the car owner. In addition, body panels molded from Noryl GTX resin resist corrosion and small dents, helping to reduce maintenance costs over the life of the vehicle. Noryl GTX resins blend polyamide (PA) and modified polyphenylene ether polymer (PPE) technology. They combine the dimensional stability and heat resistance of PPE polymer with the chemical resistance and flow of PA polymer. The result is a chemically resistant material with the stiffness, impact resistance, and heat performance required for on-line painting.