Specialty chemicals company LANXESS has developed a new compound called Pocan AF4130 in collaboration with HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co., based in Lippstadt, Germany. It serves as a housing material for a battery management unit (BMU) and two cell monitoring units (CMU). The blend of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and acrylic ester-styrene-acrylonitrile (ASA) contains 30 percent by weight glass fibers and a halogen-based flame retardance package. “The particular advantages of the material are its extremely low warpage and shrinkage, combined with its high flame retardance. We see great potential for application in precision components for vehicle battery systems,” says Marc Marbach, head of Sales Segments E&E in the LANXESS High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit. It took just two-and-a-half years to go from the initial idea to extensive testing and finally to use in full-scale production.