Saudi Arabian plastics manufacturer Sabic used last week’s Plastics in Automotive Engineering (PIAE) conference to demonstrate a thermoplastic material from its Noryl range designed for electric vehicle (EV) battery protection, highlighting the growing role of advanced polymers in replacing metal components in battery systems.
At the event, held in Baden-Baden, Germany on 18–19 March, the company presented a battery energy absorber concept based on its Noryl GTX compound.
PIAE is an annual international conference focused on plastics applications in the automotive sector, bringing together OEMs, suppliers and materials specialists to discuss lightweighting, electrification and sustainability trends in vehicle design.
Polymer solution for battery protection
Sabic’s demonstrator featured a honeycomb-structured energy absorber intended for installation in the rocker panel area of EVs, where it can provide side-impact protection for battery packs.
The company said the structure is designed to deliver mechanical robustness across a wide temperature range while enabling weight reduction compared with metal alternatives. Injection moulding allows more complex geometries and simplified assembly, which can help reduce system cost and manufacturing complexity.
The use of thermoplastics in this application reflects a broader trend in EV design, where manufacturers are seeking to balance crash protection, thermal management and weight reduction within increasingly constrained packaging envelopes.
Composition and properties of Noryl GTX
Noryl GTX is part of Sabic’s Noryl resin family and is based on a blend of polyamide (PA) and modified polyphenylene ether (PPE).
This combination is intended to merge the advantages of both polymer systems. PPE contributes dimensional stability, low moisture absorption and high heat resistance, while polyamide provides chemical resistance, processability and impact performance.
The resulting material offers a balance of properties relevant to EV battery applications, including stiffness, impact strength and resistance to automotive fluids and environmental exposure. It also maintains performance over a wide temperature range and can support weight reductions of up to 25% compared with some filled engineering plastics.
In EV battery systems, these characteristics are particularly important for structural components and protective elements, where materials must withstand mechanical loads, thermal cycling and potential exposure to electrolytes or other chemicals.
Metal replacement and lightweighting
Sabic’s PIAE demonstration emphasised the potential for Noryl GTX to replace both metal and conventional polyamide materials in battery protection structures.
Compared with polyamide, the company reported improved low-temperature ductility and higher stiffness at elevated temperatures – properties that are relevant for maintaining structural integrity in crash scenarios and under thermal stress.
The ability to replace metal components with thermoplastics is a key focus area for OEMs, as reducing vehicle weight can contribute to improved range and efficiency in electric vehicles.
Growing role of polymers in EV battery systems
The demonstration highlights the increasing role of engineered thermoplastics in EV battery design, particularly in areas such as structural reinforcement, enclosures and impact protection.
As battery packs become larger and more integrated into vehicle structures, materials capable of combining mechanical strength, thermal stability and lightweighting are expected to play an increasingly important role.
Photo: An energy absorber for EV batteries, featuring Noryl GTX resin, which can replace metal and polyamide delivering better low temperature ductility and higher modulus at elevated temperatures (© Sabic).
