As the second largest, institutionally funded transport research institution in Europe, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- and Raumfahrt/DLR) uses its transport program to address the big questions involving the future of mobility. BASF and its partner BNP Brinkmann are supporting the current research project “Next Generation Car” with a tailormade, light-weight composite based on natural fiber. “By using our Acrodur binder we were able, together with our partner BNP Brinkmann, to produce a composite material from renewable resources that meets the German Aerospace Center’s particularly high requirements for stability and weight”, explains Thorsten Habeck, Head of Business Management Fiber Bonding – Europe, Middle East & Africa at BASF.
Light-weight construction – the key to future vehicle concepts
The goal of the German Aerospace Center’s project “Next Generation Car (NGC)” is to promote the development of quiet, low-emission road vehicles with a high degree of automation and a wide range. It uses state-of-the-art technologies, among other things, for vehicle structure, engine and energy management. Light-weight construction is key when it comes to the development of innovative vehicle concepts: About two thirds of fuel consumption depend directly on the weight of the vehicle.
The contribution to the project made by BASF and its partner BNP Brinkmann concerned the “Safe Light Regional Vehicle” (SLRV), the smallest and lightest of the vehicle concepts developed as part of the NGC project. It combines a novel, metal sandwich type of construction with an innovative entry concept, a highly efficient hydrogen fuel cell engine and a novel car body to meet the demanding safety and weight (450 kg) requirements of the light-weight L7 vehicle category. The German Aerospace Center is going to give the public a first glimpse by presenting a prototype of the NGC SLRV at the Composites Europe trade fair that will take place in Stuttgart from September 10 to 12.
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SOURCE: BASF
