Envalior in Automotive

When looking for a truly original, sustainable – and good-looking - material for engine covers in the new Mercedes-Benz A-class, the auto giant chose a material that produces just 40% of the carbon dioxide of traditional chemical-based materials. EcoPaXX is a super-light, bio-based polyamide 410 made principally from castor beans - providing the perfect marriage of form and function…  Most importantly the engine cover - used on turbo-powered petrol-engine versions of the new A-Class - needed to perform in temperatures of up to 200°C. EcoPaXX has met this challenge through a deflection temperature under 1.8 MPa load (DTUL) of 200°C.

Meanwhile the reduced weight of the material has enabled the design of an engine cover that can resist high dynamic loads of engine vibrations. In fact the beauty cover weighs just 1.320kg yet…can survive continuous-use temperatures of 200°C, with short-term peaks of 235°C. This in turn has helped Mercedes-Benz achieve a 26 percent fuel consumption improvement based on previous models.

Lighter, tougher crankshaft covers - for Volkswagen

Producing high performance crankshaft covers with lower weight and system costs is every manufacturer’s goal: KACO and Envalior joined forces to make it a reality by creating a crank shaft cover based on our biobased EcoPaXX polyamide 410 for Volkswagen.

The replacement of aluminum in this crankshaft cover – part of the MDB modular platform for diesel engines across its Audi, Seat, Škoda, and VW brands - has been achieved with a 45% reduction in weight and system costs.

And of course lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions: EcoPaXX is 70% bio-based and made principally from topical castor beans and is 100% carbon neutral from cradle to gate.

The results: crank shaft covers with zero material waste and even greater energy efficiency.