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Sustainability has develop into a core a part of Volkswagen AG’s company technique, and it’s shaking up the corporate’s provide chain, processes and materials choice. This presents a superb alternative for composite suppliers.
“We’re seeing giant companies going towards very small startups – and generally the startups have the extra fascinating supplies for automotive purposes,” says Timo Achtelik, a cloth engineer at Volkswagen AG.
Suppliers seeking to get their foot within the door with Volkswagen will discover their merchandise should first cross via a four-step stage-gate course of Volkswagen applied in 2021. The steps embrace concept assortment, a feasibility evaluation, materials testing and validation, and testing and validation of the fabric inside a particular part.
Step 1: Concept assortment – Suppliers, in addition to Volkswagen crew members from automobile designers to development engineers and materials growth engineers, are inspired to recommend new supplies. “We attempt to implement a course of the place each division works collectively and may push ahead concepts,” Achtelik says.
At the moment, Volkswagen has roughly 250 sustainable supplies in its database to evaluate for potential use throughout all automobile elements, from seats and steering wheels to physique panels and batteries. Firms not already serving as suppliers can submit solutions to the Procurement Division’s Innovation Places of work by way of innovation@volkswagen.de.
Step 2: Feasibility evaluation – Subsequent, materials engineers assess the technical traits of the urged supplies of their database. This contains screening sustainability knowledge and creating first-cost estimations. “Since sustainability is a fuzzy idea, we’ve tried to make it measurable,” Achtelik says.
Suppliers are requested to supply particulars on product composition that assist classify the fabric inside Volkswagen-set norms for post-consumer recycled supplies, post-industrial recycled supplies, renewable supplies and virgin materials. Materials engineers additionally consider these traits in accordance with their inside sustainability targets.
“We at all times need to deal with the recyclability of the fabric, in addition to our decarbonization and round targets,” Achtelik explains. “A carbon fiber-reinforced plastic may result in big decarbonization measures, however on the finish of the day we can’t recycle this materials. We attempt to get composites that fulfill all targets into our vehicles.”
Whereas Achtelik notes that the energy and light-weight weight of CFRP will possible show essential for assembly total sustainability targets, Volkswagen can be trying to find renewable fibers used together with recyclable thermoplastic polymers. The corporate can be excited by biodegradable supplies that may be recycled and even compostable on an industrial scale. One answer that Volkswagen is growing is a leatherette for automobile interiors that makes use of espresso bean waste as a principal part – on this case to exchange petrochemical-based plastics.
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