FACT SHEETEuropean Bioplastics

Overview of materials and market development

Bioplastics in the automotive market – clear benefits and strong performance

Reducing fuel consumption and emissions by reducing a vehi-cle’s weight is a central objective and major challenge for the automotive industry. A number of bioplastic materials are well suited to contribute towards this goal. Bio-based plastics (e.g. bio-based polyamides, bio-based polyesters, etc.) are already successfully being used by leading automotive brands around the world today with the aim of reducing their products’ envi-ronmental impact.

This fact sheet presents an overview of available bioplastic ma-terials, general benefits of bioplastics, market development, and performance of bioplastics in the automotive sector.

What are bioplastics?

Bioplastics comprise a range of materials with differing prop-erties. European Bioplastics defines bioplastics as either bio-based, biodegradable, or both. There are three main material groups:

1. Bio-based or partially bio-based, non-biodegradable (i.e. durable) plastics such as

a. mass commodity plastics, e.g. bio-based polyethylene (PE), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET);

b. bio-based technical performance polymers, e.g. polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), thermoplastic copolyester elastomers (TPC-ET), or bio-based polyamides;

2. Plastics that are both, bio-based and biodegradable, e.g. polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), and polybutylenes succinate (PBS);

3. Biodegradable plastics based on fossil resources; e.g. polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT).1

Several different bioplastics are being used in the automotive market, including bio-based polyamides, PTT, and bio-based polyolefines, starch-blends, and PLA-blends.

1 Biodegradability is a feature inherent to a material and does not necessarily result from a material being bio-based. Bio-based materials can be durable (non-biodegradable) and petroleum-based plastics can be biodegradable. The latter are usually used in blends with bio-based bioplastics, where they fulfil specific criteria required by a particular product or application.

Benefits of bio-based plastics

Substituting scarce resources with renewable feedstock

Bio-based plastics help reduce the dependency on limited fossil resources by substituting them with renewable re-sources that are predominantly land-efficient annual crops, such as corn and sugar beets, castor (oil), switchgrass or perennial cultures, such as cassava and sugar cane. The lat-est developments in second-generation materials use cellu-lose as feedstock basis.

Reduced dependency on volatile energy markets

Bio-based plastics are not affected by oil price volatility in the same way petroleum-based materials are.

Reducing emissions, tackling climate change

Bio-based plastics are able to contribute towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions or even become carbon neutral. Plants absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide as they grow. Us-

ing this biomass to create bio-based plastic products consti-tutes a temporary removal of greenhouse gases (CO

2) from

the atmosphere. This carbon fixation can be extended fur-ther if the material is being recycled.

Closing the loop, increasing resource efficiency

Bio-based plastics can ‘close the loop’ and thus increase re-source efficiency, by establishing use cascades. Renewable resources are first used to produce materials and products before being recycled mechanically, where possible. Eventu-ally, these resources can be recovered as (renewable) energy.

Products that are bio-based and biodegradable can be or-ganically recycled at the end of a product life cycle to create water, CO

2, and biomass during a composting process. This

way, the CO2 recycling loop is closed by biodegradation.

Detailed Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) are available for most bio-based and/or biodegradable plastics and need to be taken into account when considering end-of-life options.

Toyota uses the renewably sourced polyester DuPont™Sorona®EP to produce e.g. the vent louvers of the Toyota Prius.

Bioplastics in the automotive market – clear benefits and strong performance

properties equal to or even better than the commonly used material PBT.

Compared to PBT, bio-based polyesters:

• provide a higher stiffness; • feature very good dimensional stability and lower warpage; • feature better thermal shock resistance; • provide good electrical properties; • are easier to process; • provide a better surface gloss2;

Italian manufacturer Fiat is another major player in the au-tomotive industry relying on bio-based plastics. “The use of bioplastics allows us to increase the eco-friendly profile of our products, assuring same or better performance, possi-bly at same cost.”3

For example, Fiat uses castor oil-derived long chain poly-amides to replace their fossil-based equivalent in more than one million vehicles and plans to increase this number fur-ther.4 Fiat is also looking to increase the amount of bio-fillers used to reinforce some of the plastics and elastomers used in the manufacturing process. In 2011, Fiat and DuPont won the Society of Plastics Engineers’ Automotive Innovation Award in the environmental category for their use of castor oil-based long chain polyamide in some fuel lines.5

Besides bio-based polyesters and polyamides, bio-based PBS can be converted into a high performance natural fi-bre composite, which is relevant material for the automotive sector.

Bio-based PBS is made from bio-succinic acid and 1,4-bu-tanediol (BDO). It features an innovative thermal-mechan-

Bioplastic market grows continuously

Bioplastics are used in a growing number of sectors, includ-ing packaging, consumer electronics, toys, furniture, hand-held devices, fibres, and automotives.

An increasing demand for more sustainable products is re-flected in growing bioplastic production capacities. In 2016, capacities amounted to approximately 4.2 million tonnes per year. Market data collected by European Bioplastics in cooperation with the nova-Institute (Germany) forecasts production capacities to grow by 2021 to 6.1 million tonnes.

Technical applications within the automotive sector are one of the most important upcoming growth markets for bio-plastics. Volumes are expected to grow from around 570,000 tonnes to 820,000 tonnes over the next five years.

The automotive industry is looking into sustainable solutions

‘Lightweighting’ is an important topic for the automotive in-dustry and the main reason why plastics have continuously been used to substitute heavier materials such as metals. Beyond the benefits of reduced weight, the future lies in choosing the most resource efficient plastics, i.e. bioplas-tics, to help minimise the environmental impact of car pro-duction by further reducing CO

2 emissions and energy use.

Besides these evident advantages, bio-based performance polymers (bio-based polyesters/bio-based polyamides) fea-ture all the performance criteria relevant to high quality car components.

Major converters and car brands adopt bioplastic solutions

A front-runner in adopting bioplastics is Japanese car man-ufacturer Toyota which uses bioplastics such as bio-based polyesters, bio-based PET, and PLA-blends in its production process. Toyota set the target of replacing 20 percent by weight of all oil-based plastics in their cars with bioplastics by 2015. The Toyota SAI and Toyota Prius models feature a number of bioplastic parts such as headliners, sun visors, or floor mats. Up to 60 percent of the interior fabrics are made from bio-based polyesters, which provide mechanical

“Although still in its infancy, the use of bio-based materials in the automotive industry has been gradually accelerating over the last few years. (...) bio-based plastics are now closer to meeting or exceeding performance and cost parameters of conventional plastics than ever before.” (Center of

Automotive Research, The Bio-based Materials Automotive Value Chain, 2012)

Toyota uses the renewably sourced polyester DuPont™Sorona®EP to produce e.g. the vent louvers of the Toyota Prius.

The fuel line made of renewably sourced DuPont™Zytel®RS provides long-

term resistance to biodiesel.

2 The data displayed refers to the bio-based polyester brand Sorona®EP of European Bioplastics’ member DuPont de Nemours. Sorona EP is a line of 20 percent to 37 percent starch-based polymer resins. More information available at: www2.dupont.com/Plastics/en_US/Products/Sorona/sorona_ep.html. 3 Quoted from Plastics and Rubber Weekly, “Automotive giants turn to bioplastics worldwide”, 1 August 2012. 4 Fiat Group Automobiles shipped nearly 2.2 million vehicles world-wide in 2011, source: Plastics and Rubber Weekly, “Automotive giants turn to bioplastics worldwide”, 1 August 2012. 5 In this context, Fiat used the bio-based polyamide brand Zytel RS of European Bioplastics’ member DuPont de Nemours. Zytel RS is a renewably sourced long chain of nylon products, between 60 percent and 100 percent bio-based, that can be adapted for temperature resistance. More information available at www2.dupont.com/Plastics/en_US/Products/Zytel/zytelrs/index.html

FACT SHEET | European Bioplastics

January 2017

ical balance of properties close to that of a polyolefin; it is easy to process and has good affinity with cellulosic fibers. Since bio-based BDO will also be available in the near future, bio-based PBS will soon be 100 percent sourced from renew-able feedstock.

In their joint project, Faurecia and Mitsubishi Chemical de-velop a bio-based PBS that can be used in mass-production for automotive interior parts, such as door panels, trim and strip, structural instrument panels and console inserts, air ducts, as well as door panel inserts.

The project builds on several years of research and devel-opment carried out jointly with US-based BioAmber, who supplies the bio-succinic acid to Faurencia and Mitsubishi Chemical. The resulting bioplastic is a natural fibre compos-ite called BioMat.

Phone: +49 .30 28 48 23 50 Email: info@european-bioplastics.org Email: press@european-bioplastics.org

European Bioplastics Marienstraße 19-20 10117 Berlin

For more information please visit: www.european-bioplastics.org twitter.com/EUBioplastics

Bioplastics are a suitable material for a large number of automotive applications, offering high performance and a unique potential for reducing a product’s environmental im-pact. It is therefore no surprise that the automotive market is one of the fastest growing application fields for the bio-plastics industry.

Nicolas Pechnyk, Vice President Engineering, Faurecia Interior Systems, explains: “This strategic agreement with Mitsubishi Chemical will make Faurecia the first automotive equipment supplier to mass produce a 100 percent bio-based plastic. We are confident about the future of this technology as a substitute for petroleum-based plastic components; indeed, it is one of the main cornerstones of our strategic, initiative ‘bio-attitude’.”6

6 Source: Press release BioAmber, 6 November 2012.

Mercedes Benz engine cover made of EcopaXX, a 70 percent bio-based polyamide (PA4.10) produced by DSM.

FACT SHEET | European Bioplastics