Conti is pushing forward research into high-performance plastics

Conti is pushing forward research into high-performance plastics

Continental is building its plastics expertise in three specialized tech centers in Hamburg, Kohren-Sahlis and Hann. Münden from. This further expands the expertise for sophisticated thermal management for the European automotive market. Continental already operates additional TechCenters in China and North America. "This enables us to develop innovative solutions for plastic-based pipe systems in electric and hybrid vehicles worldwide. Because without pipes, there will be no mobility in the future," explains Philip Nelles, head of the business area for fluid pipe systems for the automotive industry at Continental. Lightweight construction solutions help reduce the weight of vehicles and extend the range of hybrid and electric vehicles as well as reduce CO2 emissions.

From a single source

Continental material experts work together across locations in three specialized tech centers in Germany in order to be able to offer automobile manufacturers developments from a single source. While the experts in Hamburg concentrate on the core technologies of plastic extrusion, the plastics team in Kohren-Sahlis, Saxony, has many years of process expertise in injection molding, blow molding and tool making. In Hann, Lower Saxony. In Münden, the specialists work primarily on material testing and data collection for simulations. The line systems developed in the tech centers are installed in particular in electric and hybrid vehicles. Unlike conventional vehicles, electric vehicles require multiple cooling circuits with sophisticated thermal management.