Lanxess supplies colour pigment for barricades used in Formula E

Global chemical speciality company Lanxess supplied 37 metric tons of its charcoal-coloured Bayferrox 340 pigments through Inorganic Pigments (IPG) business to Canadian pre-cast concrete producer Beton Brunet, for the construction of 5.5km of concrete barriers that were lined both sides of the Formula E 2.75 km race.

The race featuring full electric-powered cars uses city streets for the race event, with the concrete barriers used to block off the course and separate the crowds from the raceway that are specially designed and constructed for the event at twice the size of standard barriers, along with adorned with Montréal’s city logo. 

“The Bayferrox pigments used in the project are SCS-certified. Scientific Certification Systems is one of the leading companies for independent certification and determines, for example, the proportion of recycled raw materials used in an industrial production process. The barriers were engineered to last and be re-used for several more seasons, as Montréal has signed a three-year contract to host the race,” commented Lise Charron, account manager, IPG Business unit, North America. 

“Prior to this project, we had only worked with pigments on a small scale, so our experience in regards to usage and color targets was limited,” said Isabella Begin, project leader, Beton Brunet. “The pigment experts were able to recommend a package size that could be directly dropped into our production process, eliminating dust, waste, extra handling steps and potential weighing errors.”

The Formula E race in Montreal was the last of the FIA Formula E circuit 2017’s third season that began in Hong Kong and toured eight other cities, including Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Paris, Berlin and New York.