Plastic Products for Alternative Energy Applications
Products for Efficiency, Impact, & Innovation
About Alternative Energy Industry Plastics
As governments and private industry take a more active role in reducing emissions and combating climate change, performance plastics can play a crucial role in alternative energy production and storage operations, as well as the manufacture and charging of electric vehicles. Renewable energy production, such as solar or wind, often use engineering plastics for wear parts such as thrust washers, pipes, valves, fittings, bearings, and bushings. Plastics, especially thermoset composites like phenolics, are used throughout electric cars to reduce weight. Plastic is significantly lighter than traditional materials like metal, which makes machines more efficient and places less strain on components.
Performance plastics used in mechanical applications also exhibit excellent wear properties, which means parts last longer, reducing whatever carbon footprint would be generated by producing replacements. Utilizing plastic components also decreased the amount of maintenance required, as does the fact that most plastics require little or no additional lubrication. Many plastics are even recyclable, reducing waste.
Products To Meet a Variety of Material Needs from Resilience to Sustainability
Nylon gear wheels provide excellent wear resistance and mechanical resilience, while reducing the need for lubrication in rotor blade adjustment applications. PET or acetal sliding sheets allow quick alignment of wind turbines with little energy expenditure due to their self-lubrication, all while reducing noise output. LEXAN™ polycarbonate sheet and film is used throughout electric vehicle charging stations for both internal and external components, providing long-lasting, sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, and even graffiti-resistant solutions to this new infrastructure. And phenolics can be made into custom parts for electric vehicles, including battery composite panels, which reduces EV weight and allows them to travel further on each charge.
Fueling a Cleaner World with Sustainability-Forward Products
Performance plastics play an important role in the production of equipment components used to generate solar, wind, geothermal, biofuel, and hydrogen energy, as well as electric vehicles. Polymershapes can supply all the polymers you need to support this rapidly growing industry, made by world-class manufacturers such as Polyvantis and Mitsubishi Chemical Group. Contact one of our material experts today to help you select the best performance plastic for your alternative energy application!
Fueling a Cleaner World with Sustainability-Forward Products
Performance plastics play an important role in the production of equipment components used to generate solar, wind, geothermal, biofuel, and hydrogen energy, as well as electric vehicles. Polymershapes can supply all the polymers you need to support this rapidly growing industry, made by world-class manufacturers such as Polyvantis and Mitsubishi Chemical Group. Contact one of our material experts today to help you select the best performance plastic for your alternative energy application!
Features & Benefits
Lightweight
•Excellent Bearing & Wear Performance
•Corrosion Resistant
•Chemical Resistant
•Abrasion Resistant
•Impact Resistant
•Fatigue Resistant
•Excellent Weatherability
•High Stiffness, Low Creep & Low Warpage
•Recyclable
Lightweight
Improves energy efficiency and extends EV range by reducing overall weight.
Excellent Bearing & Wear Performance
Reduces maintenance frequency and component replacement.
Corrosion, Chemical, Abrasion, Impact & Fatigue Resistant
For reliably durable performance even in harsh environments.
Excellent Weatherability
UV-stabilized with low moisture absorption.
High Stiffness, Low Creep & Low Warpage
Provides consistent dimensional stability.
Recyclable
Most materials are recyclable, helping reduce waste.
Applications
Bearings & Bushings
Plastic bearings are lighter, quieter, and often more wear resistant than their metal counterparts, allowing alternate energy production to operate more efficiently while requiring less maintenance. Acetal and nylon are cost-effective choices for most bushing applications, while ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) is sometimes chosen for its weatherability and low-frictional properties. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) delivers optimal performance even at high temperatures or under extreme wear conditions.
Electrical Insulators/Enclosures
Certain plastics display excellent insulating properties and can be used in many electrical housings, shrouds, and enclosures. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a cost-effective solution for many electrical applications, combining low electrical conductivity with high impact strength and satisfactory heat resistance. Phenolics may be used in higher-temperature applications. LEXAN 9034V flame retardant polycarbonate offers transparency and near unbreakable strength for see-through or high impact applications. For the most demanding applications, advanced engineered plastics such as polyimide (PI), polyamide-imide (PAI), or polyetherimide (PEI) may be used.
Electric Vehicle Battery Composite Panels
The lighter an electric vehicle, the further it can go before it needs to be recharged. EV manufacturers are constantly striving to reduce the weight of each model to make it more appealing to consumers. Batteries used to be one of the heaviest components of an EV. Now, phenolics are often used as battery composite panels as a cost-effective way to significantly reduce weight and improve vehicle range and efficiency. With excellent insulating properties and the ability to withstand high temperatures, phenolics are a safe and effective choice for many electrically adjacent applications.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
LEXAN offers a variety of polycarbonate sheets and films that have the electrical and thermal properties and UV and fire protection necessary to be safely used in electric vehicle charging stations. Polycarbonate may be used in internal components and cabinetry as well as external housing and displays. In addition to its excellent electrical properties, this durable material can also be printed and thermoformed for easy fabrication and design flexibility. A special coating makes many grades UV, scratch, and vandalism resistant for long-lasting outdoor performance.
Films For Solar Collectors
A variety of plastic films may be used in solar panel cells. Because scratched or clouded panels won’t collect as much solar energy, fluoropolymer films such as ETFE or PVDF are often used as a protective outer layer for their transparency and abrasion resistance. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is commonly used as a back sheet to protect the interior cell components. Polyimide (PI) films are used in high performance solar panels because of their stability at high temperatures.
Solar Array Pivot Bearings
Solar panels use pivot bearings to shift the array to follow the sun for optimal energy collection. UV reinforced UHMW-PE such as TIVAR® 1000 UV makes an excellent pivot bearing because it’s engineered to withstand long-term UV exposure while providing low friction and excellent wear resistance, all without needing additional lubrication.
Storage Tanks & Liners
Thermal energy can be stored efficiently in water for later use. This requires large insulated tanks. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is a common tank and tank liner material that offers chemical, corrosion, and impact resistance and low moisture absorption at a cost-efficient price point. For improved performance at a wider temperature range, consider polypropylene.
Thrust Washers
Thrust washers facilitate rotational movement in many machines and protect more expensive components from wear or impact. Nylon is commonly used for its high mechanical strength. In wind turbines, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) is often selected because of its improved dimensional stability, lower moisture absorption, and lower coefficient of friction.
Wind Turbine Sliding Sheets
Sliding sheets must adjust wind turbines without expending much energy. Performance plastics such as acetal or PET are self-lubricated, which reduces noisy slip-stick.
Products for Alternative Energy Applications
ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene)
Used in valves, fittings, bearings, pump components and electrical coatings, ETFE tubing is weather-resistant and inert to most solvents and chemicals. Versilon ETFE tubing is also radiation resistant.
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