Recent Developments and Research Avenues for Polymers in Electric Vehicles

Plastics have been an indispensable material of choice in automobiles with wide range of applications such as interior, exterior, under the hood, and lighting/wiring applications. The prime motive of inclusion of these materials is increase in fuel efficiency and reduction in carbon footprint by replacing the energy intensive metallic counterparts. The current decade i. e., the 2020s has seen a recent surge in the sales of electronic vehicles. Although these numbers are promising, the growth in the rest of the parts of the world is not encouraging. It is primarily due to the skepticism involving battery life and efficiency, profitability, and environmental footprint when compared to conventional and hybrid vehicles. Also, a more concerted effort is needed in the lagging areas in order to install the required infrastructure. The emergence of plastics in the development and acceptance of e-vehicles is going to be pivotal especially when the efficiency and profitability are considered as they give the required freedom to the engineers for the design and development of various parts and sizes by replacing the bulkier and more dense materials. Also, the research on bionanocomposites has received great interest from the research community due to their versatility in application along with their eco-friendly nature throughout the lifecycle starting from feedstock up to end-of-life treatment. This review paper will be one of its kind to present a critical review of the recent developments of polymers suitable for use in e-vehicles. Also, a comprehensive discussion comprising of newer research areas for polymers in their use for e-vehicles will be presented.

Automated summary

Plastics play a crucial role in the automotive industry, especially in the development and acceptance of electric vehicles. However, the growth of electric vehicles worldwide is not balanced due to skepticism regarding battery life, efficiency, and environmental impact, as well as the need for more infrastructure. The use of plastics provides engineers with more flexibility in designing and developing components, and research on bionanocomposites has received significant interest for their versatility and eco-friendliness.