Light alloy wheels made of aluminum are now standard equipment on almost every passenger car. With a total weight of more than 40 kg, these aluminum wheels account for a considerable proportion of the aluminum used in vehicles.
In addition to its excellent strength-to-weight ratio, aluminum has the benefit of being near-infinitely recyclable. Furthermore, recycling saves up to 95% of the energy used during production, compared to primary metal.
In order to further improve the recyclability of aluminum wheels, AMAG in collaboration with Audi has developed a unique, recycling-friendly alloy AlSi7.REC for wheels and wheel assemblies. The alloy has a recycled content of over 70% in accordance with ISO 14021:2016, making it possible to meet the high safety and aesthetic requirements of a car wheel in a CO2-optimized way.
“We are proud that AMAG, in close cooperation with Audi, was able to develop the first recycling-friendly alloy as a basis for safety-relevant components such as wheels and wheel assemblies,” said Gerald Mayer, CEO of AMAG Austria Metall AG.
The AlSi7.REC alloy has a new chemical composition that makes it possible to significantly increase the amount of recycled content. This enables it to use scrap types that could not be used for this type of component until now. The high recycling content is associated with a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. Therefore, this alloy falls under the new product family of low-carbon AMAG AL4®ever alloys.
The new alloy has been delivered to the market and cast into wheels by the Ronal Group. These wheels will be utilized as Audi Original Accessories for two Audi electric vehicles — the Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron.
“Sustainability is an elementary component of our corporate self-image,” said Mayer. “AMAG’s materials competence, coupled with its world-leading expertise in aluminum recycling, made it possible to develop a great product ready for series manufacturing. We would like to thank our customer and partner Audi for the excellent cooperation in this project and the series implementation in very attractive new aluminum wheels.”