Just One Word: "Plastics"
By Todd Kaho
 SABIC Innovative Plastics caught my attention at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show with a display that showcased many of their high tech plastics. SABIC (formerly GE Plastics) collaborated with Hyundai Motor Europe’s Design and Technical Center in Russelsheim, Germany to produce a concept vehicle dubbed QarmaQ. Hyundai pulled the wraps off the four-cylinder diesel powered 2+2 QarmaQ at the Geneva Auto Show. It made its way here to L.A. to illustrate to American consumers just how far plastics have come.
QarmaQ is a highly sculpted four seat crossover coupe with unique design elements that would not be possible with steel stampings and traditional materials. The body panels are “environmentally responsible” plastics that SABIC calls Xenoy iQ and Valox iQ resins. These resins were engineered using SABIC Innovative Plastic’s environmental initiative to conserve energy, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and up-cycle – or recycle –materials. QarmaQ’s body panels, hood, doors, bezels, connectors, and energy absorber were produced by up-cycling something on the order of 900 Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET plastic, drink bottles.
That’s just one example. There are 30 SABIC key technologies that make QarmaQ unique. From the Elastic Front Safety System to the Lexan polycarbonate window glazing technology, every part of this Hyundai concept was engineered with an eye toward future production vehicles.
Weight is one of the most difficult design and engineering challenges automakers wrestle with. Much of the mass of a modern car is necessary, like the high level of safety equipment (much of it federally mandated) that we rely on. So when an alternative material comes along that can deliver equivalent strength and performance at a lighter weight, the industry takes notice. QarmaQ’s horizontal body panels are made from IXIS high performance composites that deliver an astonishing 50 percent weight reduction compared to steel, with equal strength.
There’s a lot going on beneath QarmaQ’s skin, too. The PVC wire and cable insulation was replaced with SABIC’s Noryl resin technology, which is an ultra thin coating that reduces component weight by up to 25 percent. When you consider just how much wire is in a modern automobile, the savings are considerable.
Use of advanced materials reduced QarmaQ’s curb weight by 132 lbs) compared to traditional materials, a move that also does its part to help fuel efficiency. Reducing weight also increases vehicle performance and improves handling. The environmental strategy firm GreenOrder audited the QarmaQ and estimated that the weight savings translates into 80 fewer liters of diesel fuel required per year for regular driving duties. Annual greenhouse gas emissions are correspondingly reduced by 200 kg. GreenOrder went on to calculate what the savings would mean in if these numbers were multiplied by the total vehicles registered in the European Union and the figures are staggering. Across the entire EU fleet, more than 7.4 million barrels of diesel fuel and 3.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide would be saved each year.
In case you are wondering, the QarmaQ name comes from traditional Inuit dwellings that are constructed from earth, whalebone, and animal skins. Obviously non-conventional building materials, they deliver uncommon strength, resilience, and protection. The Hyundai QarmaQ is anything but conventional.
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