German speciality chemicals company Lanxess (Cologne; www.lanxess.com) and Korean auto parts specialist Infac (Seoul; www.infac.com) have together developed a battery housing for electric vehicles (EV) that uses “Durethan BKV30FN04”, a halogen-free, flame-retardant, glass-fibre reinforced polyamide 6. The component has been adopted to series production of EV models launched by a Korean automotive OEM this year, Lanxess said.

The material is said to allow for complex functions required to integrate battery housing components in a single process, which reduces the number of parts, cuts weight and simplifies assembly. Shock absorption and thermal management of the housing are said to be critical to protect the battery from external shock. The material offers high-voltage insulation with resistance of up to 800V to effectively block high-voltage current.

The plastic also maintains excellent strength and stiffness when in contact with electrolyte or cooling media, the company said, noting that the material can protect against chemical damage.