By Jinlong “Marshall” Wang, Aluminum Association; Jessica Sanderson, Novelis North America; Chris Moore, Consultant for Arconic; Duncan Pitchford, Hydro North America; Jerome Fourmann, Rio Tinto North America; Karah Davenport, Stratacomm; and Kenneth Martchek, Martchek Consulting The steel industry has made sensational life cycle assessment (LCA) claims about its products in automotive lightweighting applications over comparable […]
Volvo, the automaker known for making some of the safest cars in the world, has created a new safer electric vehicle by incorporating the battery within the aluminum structure of its upcoming Polestar 2. Enclosed in an aluminum case for protection and rigidity, the battery pack is fully housed within the floor structure of the […]
The International Magnesium Association (IMA) recently launched its 3D Magnesium Automotive Applications Demonstrator, showcasing the value of magnesium in lightweighting and utilization throughout vehicle production, from structural to body-in-white (BIW), to transmission components and interior applications. The new animated on-screen version of the demonstrator provides an interactive tool for visualizing magnesium parts used in serial production. Broken […]
By Lynn Brown, Consulting Collaborative, and Rob Nelson, Almag Aluminum. In the first nine months of 2019, it’s estimated that nearly 175,000 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were sold in the U.S.1 Not surprisingly, almost 80% had the Tesla logo on the back, with 80% of those being the fast-selling Model 3. What may be surprising […]
Novelis implemented a closed-loop recycling system with Volvo Cars in 2019. Through the closed-loop system, the companies work together to take back Volvo’s production scrap. This reduces the company’s dependence on primary aluminum input, reduces the CO2 footprint of the aluminum sheet delivered to Volvo Cars by 78%, and ensures that their production scrap remains in the value-chain and […]
The Association of Global Automakers and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers — the two largest automotive trade associations — are merging to form a new association that will leverage the expansive history of both organizations while creating a single, unified industry voice, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. The new association will represent automotive and parts manufacturers […]
Rio Tinto received the first order for its Revolution-Al™, a new high strength aluminum alloy developed to make lighter weight car wheels. The development of the new alloy was five years in the making, representing the company’s commitment to innovation. The project was carried out in cooperation with the company’s customers, who helped trial and test […]
A new study, “Aluminum Content in European Passenger Cars,” published by European Aluminium estimates that the average aluminum content of European produced cars will reach nearly 180 kg in 2019, a 20% increase since 2016. The study also forecasts the average aluminum content will further increase to almost 200 kg per vehicle by 2025. The […]
