The new season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship began last month (January), and next time you watch the cars from the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, you might not realise they feature a secret ingredient: LOCTITE.
Henkel Adhesive Technologies, through its LOCTITE brand, has formed a close partnership with the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. The collaboration began in 2021, when Henkel Application Engineer Martin Christall met the team to identify possible points of use where Loctite could further improve the performance and reliability of the team’s electric race car.
The biggest challenge was that, in Formula E, the chassis, battery, aerodynamics, and front suspension are provided centrally and are the same for all teams. This means there is only a certain amount of leeway when it comes to incorporating a team’s technologies and components, for example in the engine, transmission, rear suspension, and control systems.
“But that day, we managed to win the team over with one of our first demonstrations,” Martin Christall recalls. “The design of the car’s front motor raised some assembly challenges for the team. Loctite 9466 adhesive worked amazingly on the first try. This created trust and was a good basis for our further collaboration project.”
Today, the teams work closely together to get even more out of the cars of the future – and TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is improving season on season, with its best-ever placing of 4th in the 2023 season.
Their shared goal is to develop even better ways of using LOCTITE products, while also testing new products that enhance the car’s performance and speed – and, of course, its sustainability.
Already, different Loctite solutions are used to ensure mechanical reliability for a host of key applications, which extend from suspension bearings, gearbox housing parts, and powertrain bolts to steering wheel components.
The strength and performance of LOCTITE adhesives is clear once you understand that, in Formula E, adhesives are exposed to extreme loads. A high-performance electric motor with an output of 350 kW can propel the 854-kilogram race cars to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds. The current generation can reach top speeds of up to 320 km/h. “This puts a huge strain on all the parts. On top of that, there are the high temperatures, continual shock, and vibration to deal with,” explains Martin Christall.
You can see TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team in action throughout 2024.
