Huntsman Drives Sustainability with Record Breaking Vehicle

Patricia Albisser 14/03/2011

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Working in partnership with Huntsman Advanced Materials, the National Institute of Applied Science and Paul Sabatier University have designed and manufactured a lightweight, energy efficient vehicle.

The TIM 05 demonstrates the possibilities of making a vehicle using environmentally sustainable components, weighing just 27kg and running on bio-ethanol fuel.

To maximise its performance and achieve the best power-to-weight ratio, the students and professors involved in the project decided to use composite materials in designing the TIM 05.

The body, made of a sandwich of polystyrene and silk reinforced with carbon, and the chassis, made from unidirectional carbon and foam laminate are laminated by hand lay-up process with Araldite® LY 5052 / Aradur® 5052. This low viscosity epoxy resin was selected for its easy handling behaviour and excellent mechanical and dynamic properties in the production of laminates. Araldite® 2011, a two component epoxy adhesive has also been used to bond many other details on the vehicle.

In the Shell Eco-marathon 2010, the TIM 05 was awarded the Technical Innovation prize and as a result of covering 3350km per litre of fuel, set a world record for a vehicle running on bio-ethanol.

This project shows how Huntsman’s products are enablers for green technologies and reinforces the company’s philosophy that innovation and technical advance is balanced with sustainability. Huntsman is now working with teams from other leading European educational institutions to assist with projects focused on designing, building and driving the most fuel-efficient vehicles, in preparation for the Shell Eco-marathon 2011.

www.huntsman.com/advanced_materials

Patricia Albisser
Huntsman Advanced Materials (Switzerland) GmbH
K-401.5.77
Klybeckstrasse 200
CH-4057 Basel
Switzerland
Phone: +41-61-299 2664
Fax: +41-61-966 8130
E-mail: patricia_albisser@huntsman.com