Challenges and opportunities both exist in the plastics and rubber industries during the post-pandemic recovery. In many of its Engineered Materials business end-markets, Celanese sees improvement in the unprecedented levels of destocking that amplified weak underlying demand in 2023.

“We observed recovery of some industries like automotive and healthcare, as well as the fast booming of artificial intelligence and sustainability trends,” comments Owen Liu, APAC Technology & Innovation leader at Celanese.

At CHINAPLAS 2024, the company is displaying its innovative solutions to address market needs for four main areas: advanced mobility, future connectivity, better lifestyle and circular economy.

Advanced mobility for EVs

Safety, range, charging time and sustainability are critical to electric vehicles (EVs). Celanese stays on top of the latest trends thanks to its polymer science expertise, application development experts and technical capabilities. 

The company has developed proven solutions to improve battery performance, mitigate thermal propagation, reduce the weight of battery housings and other components and improve thermal management. 

These solutions for advanced mobility applications benefit a variety of battery and hybrid EVs. At CHINAPLAS, experts from Celanese are helping visitors to visualize the many application areas where these solutions help to solve the customers’ challenges.

Celanese offers advanced solutions to boost automotive electrification.

Future connectivity emphasizing performance 

“Our solutions help connect people with the world, ranging from antennas for base stations, to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), IoT/IIoT devices, connectors for high-speed data management and many familiar electronics applications in our daily lives,” states Liu.

The company’s portfolio for the electrical industry includes more than 400 solutions that meet Electrical Insulation Systems (EIS) standards, which makes it easier for customers to specify materials and speed up new development. For consumer electronics solutions such as smartphones, laptops and AR/VR, Celanese material solutions enable manufacturers to meet the latest requirements for lightweight, miniaturization, design freedom and sustainability. 

Better lifestyle focusing on healthcare and sports

Celanese is also highlighting a broad product portfolio of engineered materials that enable smarter, safer and more efficient solutions for appliances, personal care, footwear and medical devices.

Celanese recently collaborated with Under Armour to develop NEOLAST™ elastomer polymer and fibers, a solvent-free fiber for performance stretch fabrics. It acts as a high-performing alternative to elastane, commonly known as spandex, an elastic fiber that gives apparel stretch.

Owen Liu, APAC Technology & Innovation (T&I) Leader, Celanese Engineered Materials.

“This new alternative can unlock the potential for end users to recycle performance stretch fabrics, a legacy aspect that has yet to be solved in the pursuit of circular manufacturing with respect to stretch fabrics,” explains Liu. 

Attendees are able to feel and touch the fibers at the company’s booth during CHINAPLAS.

In addition, advanced materials for other sporting goods, including running shoes and athletic footwear, provide outstanding dimensional stability, fatigue resistance, insulation, flexibility and easy fit with weightlessness. These materials are suitable for all footwear components, including outsole, insole and midsole, uppers, laces and more.

Circular economy and clean energy

In addition, Celanese is showcasing its sustainable solutions including ECO-B (with bio content), ECO-R (with recycled content) and the expanded ECO-C (with carbon capture feature), which helps customers lower their products’ carbon footprints and move toward a circular economy.

The company is demonstrating its efforts that make reliable, cost-effective clean energy a reality, including electrolyzer in hydrogen production, lithium-ion battery for EV and 3C, Battery Energy Storage Systems and other solar, ocean and wind energy applications.  

“Innovation is key for us to remain an industry leader. Localization will allow us better understand our customers and mitigate the uncertainty of the supply chain, even as we continue to support our customers globally,” concludes Liu. 

Booth:  7.2C51