Project description
The new technological standard for the automotive and transportation industry
The EU-funded Advanced-SiMP project finalised a new generation of polymers able to combine the advantages of silane technology with the performance of polyurethane-based technology. The innovation is driven by the growing demand of the automotive and transport sector to use materials combining the reduction of emissions of VOC and CO2, reducing the use of hazardous components such as Isocyanates and solvents, improving performance to guarantee greater safety for producers and end users, and reducing the economic impact in the production phases. The SiMP Advanced 70UP provides performance, environmental sustainability and attention to production costs in a single solution.
Objective
Automotive/transport industry is reducing vehicles weight, thus spurring the use of lightweight materials. Each car today contains 13-18 kg of adhesives, and this amount will increase in the future. Moreover, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Aftermarket sectors need faster and more cost-efficient production processes to remain competitive.
Polyurethanes (PU) are the most widespread adhesive type in the sector. However, they present toxicity (high VOC emissions) and harmful effects to the environment as well as the need of additional steps for surface preparation and primers. Silyl-modified-polymer (SiMP) adhesives are attracting special attention in the last years due to their greener nature (low VOC emissions and isocyanate/solvent free) and easy application (no need for primer). Nowadays, none of the available SiMP solutions reach the necessary mechanical properties to fulfil the safety standards.
NPT's Advanced-SiMP is an innovative solution with technical, environmental and economic benefits over current solutions. Advanced-SiMP is the first high-performance SiMP adhesive that keeps the same advantages as standard SiMP, but with improved mechanical properties in terms of tensile strength and elongation. This unique combination of properties will offer the alternative to manufacturers to minimize the use of PU and produce in a more sustainable manner, complying with the stringent Regulations while also allowing for faster application. This implies an important save of time and production costs (average annual savings of €900k in manufacturing lines). The product can be customized according to the production standards of the end-user.
At NPT (New Polyurethane Technologies), founded in 1993 in Bologna, we are experts in the development and production of high performance adhesives/sealants. We design and produce our own base polymers, contributing to a differentiation over competitors which allows us to have current sales in more than 70 countries.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
40053 Valsamoggia Bo
Italy
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.