In addition to their use in battery and electric powertrain applications, technical plastics also have great application potential in the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles

The wallbox charging cable connector manufactured by LANXESS is very safe because they are used inside buildings such as parking garages or private garages and are made of halogen-free flame-retardant polyamide 6. 

In addition to their use in battery and electric powertrain applications, technical plastics also have great application potential in the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

One plastic that meets the high requirements is the halogen-free flame-retardant Durethan BKV20FN01 from LANXESS. The polyamide 6 compound is used to make charging cable connectors manufactured by Leopold Kostal GmbH & Co. KG, a global system supplier of automotive, industrial and solar electrics as well as electrical contact systems.

The charging cable connectors are used in Kostal’s own Enector wallboxes, which are distributed via Kostal Solar Electric, as well as in wallboxes from a leading German producer of industrial connector systems and charging solutions for electromobility.

“The key arguments for using our material in this application were its high tracking resistance and high flame-retardance based on the halogen-free flame retardant package. It is also easy to process and produces components with a high surface quality,” explains Dr. Bernhard Helbich, Technical Marketing Manager Key Accounts, LANXESS.

The compound’s level of flame-retardance is demonstrated by the UL 94 flammability test of the US Underwriters Laboratories Inc. testing organization.

Another strength of the material is its high tracking resistance. For example, it achieves the top rating of 600 in the CTI A test (Comparative Tracking Index, IEC 60112) and the top value of PLC 0 (Performance Level Category) in the similarly designed UL 746 test.

“This reduces the risk of short circuits and defects caused by creepage currents in the wallbox. In addition, the electrical and electronic assemblies can be designed more compactly, resulting in a smaller device overall with higher power density,” Helbich explains.