SPE Automotive Names Winners for 54th Annual Automotive Innovation Awards

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Division has announced the winners of the 2025 Automotive Innovation Awards.

The final 33 teams presented innovations in 10 categories before a panel of expert judges in October, at Celanese in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Proceedings were kept at a brisk pace with each team allotted 5 minutes of presentation time with 2 additional minutes for questions from the judges. Teams presented their achievements in materials, part design and manufacturing development. Winners were announced at the Automotive Innovation Awards Gala on Nov. 5 in Livonia, Michigan.

The Multi-Flex Midgate team took the award for Body Exterior as well as the overall Grand Prize. Source (all images): SPE

Winner in the Electric and Autonomous Vehicle Systems category, the Corvette E-Ray spatter shield was a memorable standout. It was presented by GM battery plastics technical specialist Nick Compton. During the manufacture of EV batteries, laser-welding spatter can easily damage cells and surrounding components. The solution is a thermoformed PVC spatter shield. Bits of molten material become safely embedded in the thin plastic, preventing costly damage with a low-cost shield made from readily available material. Collaborators included Creative Foam and Klockner Pentaplast.

Tom Pickett, of GM materials engineering, drew applause from judges with the presentation of a fluoropolymer for engine seals made in collaboration with supplier Freudenberg and materials science company Syensqo. The solution was inspired by a problem with the manufacture of fluoropolymers using PFAS surfactants, a potential pollutant. The patented process uses non-fluorinated, fixed charge surfactants to create the micelles inside of which the fluropolymer is polymerized. The innovation won the prize for the Materials category.

GM’s Cadillac Escalade IQ Tail Lamp took honors in the Process/Assembly category. To make the complicated piano-key design for the inner lens, engineers developed a three-shot (for red, clear and black) rotary mold with reverse ejection. Molding was performed by Forvia Hella, with materials supplied by Covestro.

Another Escalade part, the E trunk cargo sliding tray, won for Aftermarket and Limited Edition/Specialty Vehicles. The assembly slides the floor of the storage area out of the E trunk, making it easy to access contents. The load capacity at full extension is 200 lbs, thanks to a high stiffness talc-filled thermoplastic polyolefin from Advanced Composites. Other collaborators included Comet Tool and Thermoflex (molder, Tier 1 supplier).  

In the Body Interior category, judges awarded the Ford Expedition’s power sliding console. The assembly sides back to reveal a storage space in the middle of the front seat area. The redesign cut cost and weight by replacing metal structures with glass and talc-filled polypropylene and polyoxymethylene. Material suppliers were Washington Penn and Celanese, Summit Polymers was the Tier 1 supplier of the assembly, and Brose was the Tier 2 supplier of the mechanism.   

On a smaller scale, the Powertrain Award went to the thin-wall ETC (electronic throttle control) actuator gears for GM’s Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain. Schaeffler used a unique polyamide 46 blended with glass fiber, a high-flow proprietary additive, and polytetrafluoroethylene. This was further stiffened after molding with a heat-treatment process. At 0.6 mm, the gear is much thinner than the typical (1.5 mm) and is designed to flex and absorb impact energy. Envalior was the material supplier.

Actuator gear of heat-treated nylon 46. 

The Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition have a 48”-wide display, supplied by AUO, which is placed higher than the steering wheel for better visibility. In this position, the display could cast a reflection on the windshield that would hamper visibility, if not for the layered film design. 3M’s light control film uses a louvered design to reduce the viewing angle in the vertical direction to 30 degrees. The dual-brightness enhanced film uses a reflective polarizer to increase brightness without using more power. The two technologies were integrated into a hybrid film for the display, which won the award for Safety.

The Sustainability award went to a Hyundai-led team for hydrocarbon-modified wood/polypropylene composites for interior parts. Joel Myers of Hyundai described the challenges of working with cellulose, which has good mechanical properties but is difficult to mold because of hydrogen bonding. By alkylating the surface of wood flour particles with additives found in plants, the team made a processable biomaterial composite that was molded into door center trim substrates for the Kia EV5. Collaborators included supplier and material processor Kais along with materials companies Mika and Dongnam Realize.

The Chassis/Hardware category winner was the self-sealing pin & grommet bumper retainer supplied by Nifco for the Toyota Crown Signa. Nifco’s design allows the seal to be integrated into the retainer, eliminating the need for a foam sealer, thus reducing parts quantity by half. The retainer is made from POM (polyoxymethylene) from Celanese; the monomaterial design supports Toyota’s recycling efforts.

The Grand Prize went to the winner of the Body Exterior category, the Multi-Flex Midgate for the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra EV, supplied by Flex-N-Gate. The flexible design of the mid-gate supports multiple configurations, allows access to the cab through the 60% gate while the other rear seat is occupied, and replaces steel with a sheet-molded compound. It also accommodates stowing the rear glass within the gate itself. 3D-printed parts were used in development to test performance of the water seals.

Multi-Flex Midgate for GM Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado