BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) has announced the expansion of its flame-retardant engineering plastics for the electric vehicle sector. The new product, a flame-retardant PA 6.6 Ultramid A3U44G6 DC OR, “closes the innovation gap in terms of colour stability and mechanical strength”, explains Tina Weller, BASF product development manager.

High-voltage components are usually exposed to significant temperature fluctuations, which repeatedly leads to strong discolouration in conventional polyamides. But Weller said the new grade met all the criteria of colour stability and heat aging resistance, allowing for long-lasting colour coding, a safety-relevant factor in the sensitive area of high voltages. The colour stability could be confirmed after 1,000 hours at up to 130C in the test.

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The new product also features high electrical insulation. “The use of tailor-made pigments while at the same time dispensing with halide-containing flame retardants also counteracts electro-corrosion, which was previously difficult to contain, especially in humid and warm environments,” said BASF.