Borealis and Borouge team up with Teamobility AG to create new horizons in electric vehicle development

29.10.2010

Teamobility has selected Borealis as its preferred plastics supplier for its e-mobility concept.

Borealis, a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions, and its joint-venture in the Middle East and Asia, Borouge, are set to be key players in the development of a new generation of lightweight electric vehicles. They will cooperate with Teamobility, a new company recently established by Professor Johann Tomforde, a major force in the development of the Smart® Fortwo city car.

The Teamobility system is intended to provide an answer to market needs for cost-efficient, lightweight road transport that is versatile and sustainable. In urban areas, there are increasing restrictions on the movement of traffic powered by internal combustion engines and legislation governing recycling of vehicle components is being implemented in numerous countries.

The new vehicle developed by Teamobility will be based on a single platform that can be used as the basis of various models performing different functions. Key features of the material solutions will be lightweight exterior body panels that can be tailored to customers' needs and which meet the increasing demand for recyclability. "Engineered high performance polypropylene from Borealis is the ideal material solution to match the requirements for light-weight, design flexibility and processability," says Professor Tomforde. "The wide performance window of Borealis high performance polypropylene makes it suitable for a wide range of applications in our visionary e-mobility system." Teamobility has selected Borealis as its preferred plastics supplier. "We have chosen Borealis as an engineering partner because of its proven ability to come up with developments that tick all the boxes - performance, sustainability, aesthetics and cost-effectiveness," Tomforde continues.

Borealis and Borouge already have an impressive track record of providing innovative, sustainable solutions for numerous automotive applications. The Daimler Smart Fortwo itself now has all its external vertical paneling injection moulded in a Daplen™ elastomer modified PP (TPO), for example. These have helped to further reduce CO2 emissions from the car. Many other vehicles also use Borealis high performance PP-based materials for bumper fascias as well as vertical panels. High material performance and lightweight compounds from Borealis are increasingly used in structural parts such as instrument panel carriers and even in air intake manifolds. These solutions provide cost-effective routes to reduce carbon footprints throughout product life-cycles, while meeting the highest quality requirements.

Teamobility plans to have prototype vehicles ready by the end of next year, produced on a dedicated new production platform. With a range of up to 150 km per battery charge they will be aimed at fleet customers such as parcel and courier services, airports as well as small communities. The vehicles are part of an 'e-mobility' system the company is developing, which also includes an infrastructure for charging and parking the vehicles.

"I am very proud that Borealis is partnering with Professor Tomforde and his Teamobility-team in creating a mobility concept of the future," says Harald Hammer, Vice President of Borealis' Mobility Business Unit. "I believe that Borealis' strategic path of Value Creation through Innovation provides a perfect match with Professor Tomforde's vision of e-mobility. We are only at the starting point of this exciting joint project but we see already today opportunities for Borealis to contribute solutions for charging stations as well as the vehicles themselves."

For further information please contact:

Lena Lehner
External Communications Manager
Vienna, Austria
+43 1 22 400 602
lena.lehner@borealisgroup.com

Mobility Business Units
Borealis' and Borouge's Mobility Business Units specialise in supplying advanced polyolefin plastics to leading manufactures in the automotive industry. The portfolio of products includes materials for exterior, interior and under the bonnet applications, such as bumpers, body panels, trims, dashboard, door cladding, climate control units, air intake manifolds as well as battery cases. Through close collaboration with our customers, innovative technologies and our extensive product portfolio, Borealis and Borouge have established a leading position in the automotive market across Europe, South America and Asia.

Both companies find that customer-driven innovation is the only way to achieve and sustain progress. Through foresight and focus on customer needs, we continue to provide innovative solutions for the automotive industry that add real value throughout the value chain. We also know the high value that our customers in the automotive industry place on quality and product consistency. We pride ourselves on the performance of our products, and through ongoing investment in upgrades and new plant programmes, we continue to set new records for output efficiency and product reliability.

They believe that responsiveness is the foundation of fruitful customer partnerships. The Business Unit Mobility ensures this through their resources of strategically placed global hubs: Borealis Belgium, Borealis Central Europe, Monza (Italy), two compounding facilities in Brazil, Itatiba and Triunfo and two in China, Shanghai and Guangzhou (end 2012). In addition, they are supported by the innovation centres all over the world.

About Borealis and Borouge

Borealis is a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions that create value for society. With sales of EUR 4.7 billion in 2009, customers in over 120 countries, and 5,200 employees worldwide, Borealis is owned 64% by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and 36% by OMV, the leading energy group in the European growth belt. Borealis is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and has production locations, innovation centres and customer service centres across Europe and the Americas.

Through Borouge, a joint venture between Borealis and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world's major oil and gas companies, the company's footprint reaches out to the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Indian sub-continent and Africa.. Established in 1998, Borouge employs approximately 1,600 people, has customers in more than 50 countries and its headquarters are in Abu Dhabi in the UAE and Singapore.

Building on Borealis' unique Borstar® technology and their experience in polyolefins of more than 50 years, Borealis and Borouge provide innovative, value creating plastics solutions for the infrastructure (pipe systems and power and communication cables), automotive and advanced packaging markets. In addition, Borealis offers a wide range of base chemicals from melamine and plant nutrients to phenol and acetone.

Today, Borealis and Borouge have a manufacturing capacity of over 5.4 million tonnes of polyolefins (polyethylene and polypropylene) per year of which 26% are the result of a recently completed capacity expansion in Abu Dhabi. An additional 2.5 million tonnes per year is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013, creating the world's largest integrated polyolefins plant. The companies continue to invest to ensure that their customers throughout the value chain, around the world, can always rely on superior products and security of supply.

Borouge and Borealis are committed to the principles of Responsible Care® and proactively contribute to addressing the world's water and sanitation challenges through their Water for the World™ initiative.

For more information visit:

Borealis: www.borealisgroup.com

Borouge: www.borouge.com

Water for the World: www.waterfortheworld.net

Daplen™ is a trademark of the Borealis group.

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