The climate crisis is accelerating the rapid changes within the automotive industry, brought about by government policy, shareholder activism, and consumer demand. As a result, we are experiencing one of the most radical transformations since the development of the internal combustion engine, entering a new era of electrified mobility. 

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McKinsey & Company predicted that to achieve net zero emissions, “electric vehicles would need to account for 75% of passenger car sales globally by 2030, which significantly outpaces the current course and speed of the industry.” 

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One of the global-leading companies, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Henkel), is dedicated to turning the course around by offering a wide variety of tailor-made innovative solutions to optimise the design, assembly, performance, reliability and recyclability of EV Battery Systems, making positive impacts on industrial development and sustainability. 

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“We have a very strong legacy and a very strong heritage in the automotive industry that contributes to the evolution of electrified mobility,” says George Kazantzis, Corporate Vice President and Global Head of the Automotive Components Business at Henkel. 

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Henkel has a long history of pioneering in the field of adhesive technologies and automotive development, holding the principle of intense innovation, and is never afraid to challenge the traditional approaches and think outside the box. Henkel’s automotive business operates 8 global innovation hubs supported by approximately 200 scientists and 50 Battery and Thermal technology experts for pursuing next-generation state-of-art battery solutions. 

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Stephan Hoefer, Global Market Strategy Head for e-Mobility at Henkel says, “we decided to build a new team which we called Fuel-the-Future, and hired experts from other industries that were so far not part of our DNA within Henkel. For example, we brought in experts from the battery industry, from battery manufacturers, experts working on the recycling of batteries, on safety systems, on design, and on battery cell technology.” Fuel-the-Future marks a major milestone in the development progress, signalling Henkel's commitment to reinforcing its position as a market leader and a pioneer in the e-mobility industry. 

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For instance, Henkel’s electrode conductive coating will help increase the power density and enhance the overall battery cell lifetime once installed into the vehicles. Mr. Hoefer elaborates, “bringing structural adhesives into the battery to ensure the structural integrity of the battery pack and bringing the combined technology of thermal characteristics and adhesives into the battery, or also forming solutions is part of our innovation towards the battery efficiencies.” 

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Furthermore, Henkel is utilising its chemistry knowhow and expertise in battery systems to address the potential safety hazards related to the flammability of batteries. The thermal propagation prevention materials from Henkel are designed to protect the passengers and enable them to safely evacuate the vehicle, in case of a fire event, by inhibiting and delaying the spread of fire.

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Facing the major challenge of climate change, what Henkel is doing boosts the development of e-mobility, and also guarantees the recyclability of electric vehicle battery components, for example using the de-bonding technology. “In our Battery Engineering Center in Düsseldorf, we will take full battery components, disassemble them, analyse them, build up digital twins, and with the result of that, we will reassemble them by dispensing our materials onto the customer’s parts,” Dr. Carina Goerens, Director of Application Engineering for EIMEA at Henkel, explains further. 

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Henkel has proven its expertise and capacity to fuel the coming future of e-mobility and enable sustainability comprehensively. Moving forward, it will continue to be the innovative driver of developments for the industry and for its customers.