Report Conclusions

The electronics and electrical industry and their suppliers are facing an increasing need to find halogen-free alternatives to flame retardancy in their products due to legislative actions and market pressure.

A shift towards halogen-free alternatives requires a wide range of issues to be considered, such as the availability and technical peformance of halogen-free materials, life-cycle costs, environmental impact, timing and sourcing.

In order to support development of corporate actions, a multi-client conceptual study has been carried out. The idea behind the conceptual approach was to gain a comprehensive view of state-of-the-art of halogen-free alternatives and of mechanisms governing design for flame retardancy. Although the study covered many issues of a shift to halogen-free alternatives, there are still many aspects and details to be explored.

These are the main conclusions from the study

1 There is a trend towards halogen-free alternatives. An increasing number of actions are being taken by companies as well as by society.

2 The question about going halogen-free was raised in Europe, but Japanese companies act faster than European companies do.

3 Corporate initiatives are becoming a major driving force.

4 A wide range of Br-free materials is available on the market meeting the UL94 V-0 requirement. The materials look promising but there is a lack of data enabling a full assessment particuarly concerning environmental performance.

5 Halogen-free materials are available for all levels of a product, from enclosures down to PWB laminates and IC encapsulants. However, the supply of halogen-free laminates and in particular IC encapsulants is limited.

6 There are great opportunities in "design for halogen-free", i.e. to reduce or eliminate the need for halogenated and other flame retardants by design measures.

7 Legislation on halogenated flame retardants is emerging. It is likely that an EU directive will cover PBB and PBDE types, while TBBA presently does not seem to be facing a ban.

8 There is a potential risk that legislative actions will force industry into the use of halogen-free solutions with unknown environmental impact or, even worst, larger environmental impact than the halogenated flame retardants cause.

9 The shift towards "halogen-free" creates market and business opportunities. The key issue is probably to choose the right timing and corporate procedure (what to do with whom).

10 There are no liability hindrances to a shift as long as the flame retardancy requirements are met.

11 "Halogen-free" or "bromine-free" may come to be perceived as an added value by the market in the future.

There is a need for additional R&D to be carried out. A major issue is to fully assess the environmental performance of the alternative materials. There is also a need for standards for what is to be considered as "halogen-free".

The present study will be followed by R&D projects on halogen-free materials and fire safety at IVF. For the latest information on ongoing and planned activities, please contact Carl Gunnar Bergendahl at IVF (cgb@ivf.se).

<back