Avient Expands Therma-Tech™ Portfolio with Natural Graphite Based Thermally Conductive Formulations, Supporting Lightweighting and Electrification Goals

Avient Corporation, an innovator of materials solutions, today announced the expansion of its Therma Tech™ product portfolio with eight new thermally conductive grades that leverage natural graphite to deliver high thermal conductivity and cost efficiency for applications such as LED lighting, automotive heat sinks, and heat exchange systems. Natural graphite offers a lower product carbon footprint and typically requires less energy to produce than synthetic graphite, while still maintaining thermal conductivity performance.

As electrification accelerates across transportation, industrial equipment, appliance, and electronics sectors, engineers face mounting pressure to manage heat more efficiently, more cost-effectively, and with less weight. Metal components such as aluminum heat sinks and die-cast enclosures remain a standard approach but they carry inherent limitations: added mass, susceptibility to corrosion, complex manufacturing processes, and constrained design freedom. For original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and product designers pursuing lightweighting strategies, metal-to-plastic conversion in thermal management applications is no longer a future possibility; it is an active engineering priority.

The expanded Therma-Tech™ portfolio can address the thermal management challenges facing engineers across transportation, appliance, electronics, and healthcare end markets. Key attributes include:

High thermal conductivity enabled by natural graphite-based technology, delivering performance competitive with more costly specialty filler systems

Improved cost efficiency compared to existing high-performance thermally conductive technologies — making polymer-based thermal management viable for mid-tier production volumes and cost-sensitive applications

Thermal performance and design flexibility maintained from existing Therma-Tech™ grades, enabling drop-in evaluation against current metal or thermally conductive polymer specifications

Compatibility with standard injection molding processes, limiting the need for specialized manufacturing equipment

Applications Driving Demand for Thermally Conductive Polymer Technologies

The new natural graphite-based Therma-Tech™ grades can be used for end-use applications where thermal management, weight, and design flexibility are primary engineering requirements:

LED lighting assemblies — heat sinks and thermal interface components requiring thermal management at reduced mass and component cost

Automotive heat sinks — thermal management components for electrified powertrains, battery thermal management systems, and onboard electronics

Heat exchange systems — components in HVAC, industrial, and appliance heat exchangers

Electronics and appliance housings — thermally active housings where integrated thermal management reduces system complexity

Healthcare devices — thermally managed device housings and components requiring biocompatibility and processing reliability

source : Avient