In an exclusive chat with MOTORINDIA, Venu Shanbhag, MD, Saint-Gobain Sekurit India, shares insights about the future of automotive glazing solutions in India.
With an emphasis on the aesthetics and styling, as evident from the new concepts released by OEMS for EV’s – how is Saint- Gobain Sekurit aligning its offerings to meet with this requirement?
Glazing is an important part of body design that needs to be integrated into the body design. Automotive glazing greatly contributes to not just the external appearance but also has an impact on performance. As you have rightly observed, for the new EV concepts, a large portion of the front, top and rear part of the vehicle is covered with a Windshield, Roof and Tailgate glass that is seamless. This is completely different from conventional glazing and therefore needs an advanced manufacturing process. Saint-Gobain Sekurit is the leader in many of these advanced technology products making it the partner of choice with globally popular and iconic EV car manufacturers. We have several advanced products like Climacoat® Windshield, Comfortsky® & Amplisky® for roofs and encapsulation glass for side fix glasses which enhance design and styling of vehicle.
NVH requirements are evolving in Electric Vehicles, what are Saint-Gobain Sekurit’s offerings in glazing for EV to improve Acoustics in Vehicle ?
In addition, the increased usage of voice-controlled features makes it a necessity to solve for in-cabin acoustics. Glazing plays a very important role in reducing DB levels and this is achieved by the use of Special PVB Layered Acoustic Windshield on the front. A recent global trend in Front Door Glasses indicates a shift towards Laminated Sidelites and we have the capability in India to make Laminated Sidelites as low as 4 mm thickness without compromising on safety.
Battery range is a prominent aspect in the purchase process for Electric Vehicle buyers. In addition, a light weight vehicle is the ideal wish for every Engineering and Design team. Does glazing play a role in these key aspects?
The direct answer is Yes! very much! Vehicle weight is considered as critical criterion by manufacturers to improve battery range. Our light weight glazing solutions with lower glass thickness reduces the weight of glazing significantly and contributes to improving the range. Besides weight reduction, asymmetric thickness of glass also improves the vehicle’s safety by reducing the risk of breakage.
Besides the global innovations, is Saint-Gobain Sekurit India working on any specific innovations in glazing for heat reduction which is a common problem in hot countries like India?
In line with our Sekurit’ s vision to make “every drive a great experience” we have an innovative thermal comfort glazing solution that is apt for Indian conditions. They help reduce the amount of heat entering into the cabin and improve passenger comfort. Our research facility in Chennai initiated a detailed study through simulations (Qualitatively & Quantitatively) on Thermal Comfort comparisons for Vehicles in Indian conditions. Our studies demonstrate a significant improvement in cabin comfort for those vehicles equipped with thermal comfort glasses when compared with standard glasses. OEMs have already applied these solutions in recent models and the customer feedback is promising. In addition to thermal comfort to the customer, the load on the HVAC system and in turn, on the battery, is also reduced by selecting the appropriate thermal comfort glazing set for the vehicle.
In the current era of advanced driver assistant application, what features can be loaded into glazing to reduce driver efforts?
Beyond the aesthetic performance, Interactive glazing solution with Heads- up display is widely applied in windshields for reducing driving effort. Furthermore, several unique products like Aquacontrol, Climacoat, Icecontrolwires, PlugNbridge are being applied by manufacturers based on needs. With the help of our R&D centre in India, we have developed several prototypes that incorporate static & dynamic displays in the glazing which are best suited for EV cars. Any ADAS feature can be displayed on the windshield based on the criticality to enhance safety. Apart from glazing, our R&D center has also developed competency in integrating displays and sensors in plastics that find application in interior and exterior of the vehicle. For instance, we can integrate vehicle lock/unlock, charging level, lane warning, etc. on the A or B pillars.