Belgium-based chemical industrial group Solvay takes the wheel to develop an all-plastic automotive engine ‘Polimotor 2’ that will be tested in a race car next year.
In what would become a replacement of metal parts through specialty polymer technology, Polimotor 2 eyes limiting the weight of engines between 63kg and 67kg.
The breakthrough is expected to shed 41kg from the standard all-metal automotive engines that currently form the heaviest part in a vehicle.
Solvay Specialty Polymers global business unit president Augusto Di Donfrancesco said: "The Polimotor project is yet another pioneering opportunity for Solvay Specialty Polymers to bring its innovations to the forefront and to expand its lightweighting offerings."
Solvay will replace metal parts in the exterior, interior and underhood applications, adhering to the existing fuel and emission regulations.
In all, ten metal engine components, including the water pump, oil pump, water inlet/outlet, throttle body, fuel rail and cam sprockets, will be substituted with parts made from seven thermoplastic materials.
Eventually, the Polimotor 2 four-cylinder, double-overhead CAM engine will power a Norma M-20 concept car for a race at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut.
Solvay is stated to have played a major role for developing the first Polimotor engine, conceptualized by U.S. engineer Matti Holtzberg in the early 1980s.
