Covestro AG, a leading supplier of high-tech polymers, is looking to tap into the growing demand for automotive coatings for electric vehicles by collaborating with a university team competing at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, one of the top solar-powered electric car races in the world.
The German multinational supplied bio-based material for coatings to the Sonnenwagen team, which is composed of students from Germany’s RWTH Aachen University and Aachen University of Applied Sciences.
“The race shows that electric transportation is feasible and a chance [for Covestro] to develop material solutions that enable people to build lightweight electric cars,” Covestro Australia managing director Rebecca Lee said in an interview with the Taipei Times on Friday.
Apart from lending support to the students, Covestro also hoped to test its materials under the harsh climate conditions in Australia’s deserts. Participants have to complete the 3,000km journey from Darwin to Adelaide, overcoming challenges such as temperatures of up to 45°C.
Commenting on sustainability issues, Lee said that Covestro has set an ambitious target for 2025, aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared with 2005 levels.
The company plans to allocate 80 percent of its budget to the research and development of sustainability projects to achieve its goal, Lee said.
Huawei Technologies Co (華為), another major sponsor of the Sonnenwagen team, also expressed an interest in the development of sustainable mobility, eyeing connectivity technology used in vehicles.
The Chinese company — which in June launched the world’s first 5G-based remote driving technology for cars through an alliance with China Mobile Ltd (中國移動) and SAIC Motor Corp (上海汽車) — supported the team with its communications technology.
The system enables stable communication between the driver and the team, even in remote areas with no telecommunications infrastructure, Huawei said.
“We have been working on projects related to autonomous driving and car-to-car communications for years,” Huawei vice president for public affairs in Europe Torsten Kupper said.
The development of an optimal 5G-based transportation system could eliminate traffic jams, he said.
Huawei understands customer demand for better technologies, as it provides a wide range of products, he said.
“That helps Huawei link its advantages with the development of the auto industry,” he said, adding that the company has teamed up with Volkswagen AG.
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