**1. Introduction**

290 Thermoplastic Elastomers

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In polymer engineering the lightweight solutions include:


Cellular and hollow structure polymeric materials offer additional advantages resulting from their thermal insulating properties, thus allowing additionally energy savings.

Preference given to low density materials belong to the factors deciding on a success of polypropylene (PP) in the automotive sector. Being lighter than other plastics for 15-20% PP allows substantial fuel savings – it is assumed that a weight reduction in a car body of 100 kg brings about 0.3-0.5 litres of fuel savings per 100 km.
