PPG and Stellantis highlight energy saving new sealer tech
Global automotive brand, Stellantis and PPG have teamed up to highlight the impact new PPG technology has on the vehicle production process.
As the home to a range of iconic automotive brands, including Jeep, Maserati, Chrysler, Peugeot and Ram, Stellantis is keenly aware of the importance of energy savings and emissions reductions. This has seen the automotive giant lean on its partnership with PPG to incorporate the new PPG CORASEAL 4-Wet Sealer in Stellantis’ light commercial vehicles (LCV) production.
By curing in just one step, versus up to three steps required for traditional technologies, PPG Coraseal 4-Wet Sealer delivers sustainability benefits for automotive OEM paint shops by reducing energy usage and CO₂ emissions. Traditionally, automotive OEM paint shops have used a curing process comprising a sealer oven, primer oven, and topcoat oven. While the PPG B1:B2 process (also known as the 3-Wet system) reduced that to just the sealer oven and topcoat oven, the latest PPG Coraseal 4-Wet Sealer takes it one step further where only the topcoat oven is required.
The system is compatible with most waterborne and solvent-borne systems. The results of the implementation at Stellantis’ LCV plants were presented jointly by Franck Lepetit, PPG Product Engineer, Automotive OEM Coatings, and Sophie Carpentier, Stellantis Sealants Technical Leader at the Strategies in Car Body Painting conference, hosted by the Automotive Circle in Berlin, in July 2024. The speakers said the process is an important contributor to meeting their respective companies’ sustainability targets. “Transitioning to the PPG Coraseal 4-Wet Sealer offers several sustainability and performance benefits to OEMs,” said Thierry Destruhaut, PPG Sustainability Business Partner, Automotive OEM Coatings. “When compared to the 3-Wet system, it can lead to a reduced environmental impact, reducing energy consumption by nearly 8%, cutting CO₂ emissions by nearly 5%* and enhancing productivity. Additionally, the need for fewer curing steps also simplifies maintenance processes and reduces costs.”
* Based on EU average conversion factors.