Solvay Slot Liners honoured for lightweighting properties

Solvay, a producer of speciality chemicals, has been honoured with the runner-up Altair Enlighten Award 2023 in the ‘Future of Lightweighting’ category for slot liners using Ajedium PEEK Film in the battery pack and e-motor design of electric vehicles (EV). 

Presented in association with the Centre for Automotive Research (CAR), the Altair Enlighten Award is the industry’s only award dedicated to vehicle lightweighting and honours sustainability and lightweighting advancements that have significant potential to reduce carbon footprint, mitigate water and energy consumption, and leverage material reuse and recycling efforts.

The award was received by Solvay’s Dr. DeeDee Smith, E-Mobility Marketing Manager, and Brian Baleno, Head of Automotive Marketing, in an awards ceremony on August 1st.

Brian Baleno, Head of Automotive Marketing, said: “We are very proud of receiving this prestigious award, which recognizes our firm commitment to greater sustainability in e-mobility with high-performance specialty polymers.  As EV manufacturers are moving from 400 volt systems to 800 volts or higher, conventional paper laminate slot liners can no longer live up to the challenges arising from this trend. In comprehensive simulation testing, our Ajedium PEEK Film has demonstrated its outstanding property profile for improving the thermal, electrical and mechanical performance of slot liners, while enabling thinner secondary insulation and providing a more sustainable mono-material solution.”

The  Ajedium PEEK Film slot liners were selected by the Altair jury for offering a potential mass reduction of 12 kg in the battery pack and 4 kg in the e-motor of EVs compared to the weight of systems using traditional laminates. The company claims this can make a big difference in terms of EV power consumption and reach. By achieving the same electrical resistance at only two thirds of the typical laminate thickness, the  PEEK slot liners also aims increase the available stator slot space for additional magnet wire and thus higher copper slot fill factors.

In addition, it is claimed that the superior electric insulation and thermal heat dissipation of Ajedium PEEK enhances the thermal management efficiency, which allows designers to downsize the aluminum casting and create more sustainable e-motors with less energy and material consumption. Solvay also claims that the PEEK film shows excellent chemical resistance to automatic transmission fluids (ATF) and good adhesion to varnish. In addition, it eliminates the need for dedusting equipment and climate-controlled storage, reducing energy costs and improving workspace conditions.