Plastics are essential for the electrical industry—they insulate and protect and must therefore be, for example, heat-resistant, flame-retardant, or mechanically robust. Currently, fossil-based plastics such as polyamides or polycarbonates are predominantly used for this purpose, but bio-based alternatives are lacking. In the recently launched two-year collaborative project “HighTechPLA,” the Oberhausen-based Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT is working with partners to develop a bio-based high-performance compound based on polylactic acid (PLA).

In Germany, approximately one million tons of plastics are processed annually in the electrical and electronics sector. The majority are fossil-based, and recycled materials are used only to a limited extent here. A bio-based alternative that could be used in the electrical industry could therefore make a significant contribution to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The major challenge is to endow bio-based plastics with specific, mutually influencing properties, to further develop them for technical applications, and to make them economically compatible with conventional injection molding processes.

In the “HighTechPLA” collaborative project, the project team is developing a high-performance material based on PLA for electronic components. The consortium brings together expertise from research and industry in the fields of materials development, injection molding, and production development. The initial goal is to gain a deep understanding of the structure-property relationships in PLA compounds in order to systematically resolve conflicting objectives between crystallization behavior, impact strength, and flame retardancy.

A structure-property model will then enable formulations and processes to be simulated under realistic conditions and validated in actual production facilities. The close integration of material and process development is intended to keep cycle times comparable to those of conventional processes.

“Our goal is to ensure that project results can be rapidly transferred into market-ready products. The results also have the potential to be extended to other industries,” explains Christina Eloo of the Circular and Bio-based Plastics Department at Fraunhofer UMSICHT.

The partners in the project consortium alongside Fraunhofer UMSICHT are: FKuR Kunststoff GmbH, Georg Schlegel GmbH & Co. KG, Bodo Ehmann GmbH, Werner Langer GmbH & Co. KG, and LED Linear GmbH

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