Mercedes and Audi Looking For Better Glue

Carmakers including Audi and Mercedes-Benz are turning to high-tech adhesives as they seek ways to make cars lighter and tougher. Automakers are now using more aluminum and exotic composites, which cannot be welded together but have to be glued with adhesives that will not lose their strength and can hold together parts even at top speeds and high pressure. That puts industrial adhesives made up of chemicals like the polyolefins that are used in Croc shoes and tennis racket strings at the top of carmakers’ shopping lists.
The 2 billion to 3 billion euro market for automotive adhesives currently accounts for less than 10 percent of the global adhesives market, but industry experts forecast the amount of glue used in an average car may grow by at least a third over the next five to 10 years, from around 15kg now. As well as sealants that fill in tiny gaps in the various joints of a car, stronger structural adhesives can now be used to hold together and stiffen load-bearing parts and components like doors, bumpers and struts.