Autoneum’s Theta-Fiber™ nominated for PACE Award 2012

Super lightweight non-woven material Theta-Fiber™ allows substitution of plastics and realizes engine encapsulations with excellent acoustic and thermal properties

The automotive supplier Autoneum has been nominated in the product category of the PACE Award 2012 for its non-woven material Theta-Fiber™. This prestigious trophy for superior innovations will be awarded for the 18th time by the US magazine Automotive News in conjunction with Ernst&Young and the Transportation Research Center (TRC).

“The nomination for the PACE Award confirms that we have developed a very unique semi-structural non-woven material for engine bay applications”, says Gérard Seuvre, Head of Research & Technology at Autoneum. “Due to its high heat resistance, low weight, excellent acoustics and integrated thermal insulation, Theta-Fiber™ is a key technology to realize an engine encapsulation concept that fulfils upcoming regulations in terms of CO2 and pass-by noise”, Seuvre explains. In addition, this technology can be used for efficiently substituting solid plastic components, saving weight and gaining thermo-acoustic function.“

Compared to currently available non-woven materials, Theta-Fiber™ is a great improvement in terms of heat resistance and mechanical strength. Whereas conventional thermoplastic materials only display long-term stability at temperatures of up to 110 °C and duroplasts of up to 150 °C, the new material resists a permanent temperature of 160 °C as well as short-time thermal loads of up to 200 °C.

The PACE Award 2012 honors superior innovations, technological advancements and great business performance among automotive suppliers in the categories product, manufacturing process and information technology. The awards ceremony takes place in Detroit on Monday, April 23, 2012 and kicks off SAE World Congress week. In 2010, Autoneum (former Rieter Automotive) was already among the finalists for the PACE Award for its ULTRA SILENT™ technology.