Automakers all face the same challenges of how to reduce carbon footprint, do nice design, and shorten product development time—all at the same time! Plastic is part of the problem, but also part of the solution, as I saw during my visit to Covestro HQ.
Plastic suppliers are clearly central to carbon footprint reduction. Recycled and bio-based proposals are coming, and plastic companies are part of the new recycling supply chain growing and gaining traction (mostly in Europe for the time being). Plastic suppliers are also one of the main contributors to nice-looking lamp design. They are a wellspring of new ideas for illuminated panels with films, new materials with new properties for illumination, and so much more.
Because simulation is crucial to faster development, which is why companies like Covestro are investing in material optical-properties databases to ease the job of the optical designer.
Really, the lamp design revolution was made possible by two key sectors: light sources manufacturers and plastic suppliers. Among DVN members we have more than 10 companies involved in light sources manufacturing and more than 10 involved in plastic raw material supplier—which demonstrates strong taproots in the vehicle lighting business. Innovation can and must carry on in this way to continually propose products with better optical properties, lower weight, less CO2 emission, and (this is the automobile industry) cheaper price!
