Nominations are now being accepted for the fourth annual Altair Enlighten Award, which recognizes achievements in weight reduction across the entire automotive industry, from motorcycles to passenger cars, light trucks to commercial vehicles and buses. The 2016 award program allows nominees to submit entries for lightweighting achievements in two distinct categories: full vehicles and modules. Altair will present the award in collaboration with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) at the 51st annual CAR Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City MI, on August 1-4, 2016.
The Enlighten Award gives companies involved in automotive design and manufacturing the chance to be recognized as a leader in the development of lightweight solutions. The 2015 award was won by Ford Motor Company, for its use of various lightweight materials such as aluminum to minimize the weight of the 2015 Ford F-150. Ford’s engineers took a holistic approach to weight reduction by incorporating aluminum and other advanced materials into the entire design of the vehicle, including the frame, body, powertrain, battery, and interior features such as the seats.
In addition to the grand prize, two runners-up were named in 2015. General Motors was awarded first runner-up for developing and using innovative CAE methods to achieve a 163 lb weight reduction on the Alpha architecture of the 2012 Cadillac ATS/CTS. Faurecia, together with Automotive Performance Materials, took home the second runner-up award for its NAFILean (Natural Fibers for Lean Injection Design) solution for the instrument panels, center consoles, and door panels of the 2013 Peugeot 308.
“Over the past few years we’ve received dozens of terrific nominations demonstrating the determination of automakers and suppliers alike to meet the challenges of continued mass reduction. As pressure continues to increase on the industry approaching the 2016-2018 mid-term review, we expect to see significant new innovations to be showcased in this year’s competition,” said Dr. Jay Baron, president & CEO at Center for Automotive Research. “We look forward to the 2016 nominations highlighting exciting new approaches to automotive engineering and design contributing to further reductions in weight, fuel consumption, and emissions for light-duty vehicles.”
Manufacturers and suppliers interested in submitting a nomination are able to access additional information about the nomination process on the Altair Enlighten website. To allow sharing of innovation to further this goal, while respecting the business and technical confidentiality of all applications, designs submitted must be implemented on a production vehicle produced between August 2013 and August 2016, with no geographical restrictions. The judging panel will include industry experts and academic leaders, as well as CAR and Altair representatives.
Applications for the 2016 Altair Enlighten Award must be received on or before May 20, 2016 to be eligible.