News Release

Novel thermoplastic composite StyLight* from INEOS Styrolution is poised to reduce weight in the automotive industry

17.04.25

Frankfurt, Germany

  • New generation thermoplastic composite for structural parts with particular aesthetical value
  • Material offers new opportunities for car designers while addressing weight reduction
  • Presentations at upcoming conferences in North America and China

INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, announces that StyLight*, the new generation of thermoplastic composites, combines structural stiffness with surface aesthetics opening up opportunities in the automotive industry to address both, structural and aesthetic demands with a single material. This results in designers rethinking the design of certain vehicle applications.

Traditional car applications often consist of a frame or structural part that is complemented by visible parts providing a certain aesthetical value to the user. StyLight* offers an excellent mechanical performance profile including stiffness, strength and impact strength. It is on par with today’s most advanced PA6 or PC based thermoplastic composites in the market. At the same time, the material is capable of combining the roles of structural frame and visible aesthetic part. This leaves room for design changes and ultimately weight reduction.

Key target applications for StyLight* in the automotive industry include seat structures, door modules, center consoles, tail gates, body panels and parts with carbon fiber look.

A StyLight* demonstrator combining different surface aesthetics such as gloss surface, grained surface, molded surface and design foil and a semi-structural reinforcement provides a first impression of the material’s potential.

More details about the new generation of composites will be made available in a series of presentations delivered at the following conferences:

  • May 2, 2017: Auto EPCON – Plastics on the Move (Troy, Michigan, USA)

John Fialka, Business Development Manager Automotive, INEOS Styrolution: “New material solution for lightweight design”
(venue: Detroit Marriott Troy, 200 W Big Beaver Rd, Troy, Michigan, USA)

  • May 17, 2017: INEOS Styrolution’s Automotive and Electronics & Household Seminars, coinciding with Chinaplas (Guangzhou, China)
    Pierre Juan, Composite Thermoplastic Director, INEOS Styrolution: “StyLight, a new generation of thermoplastic composites”
    (venue: W Guangzhou Hotel, Pearl River New Town, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China)
  • June 5, 2017: Plastics-In-Motion 2017 – Global Automotive Plastics Congress & Exhibit (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
    John Fialka, Business Development Manager Automotive, INEOS Styrolution: “New material solution for lightweight design”
    (venue: Detroit Marriott Troy, 200 W Big Beaver Rd, Troy, Michigan, USA)
* Trade mark application pending