Alcoa released a new version of the automotive aluminum technology roadmap-to promote industrial chain innovation and cooperation!

On January 30th, 2022, the American Aluminium Association released a new technology roadmap, Aluminum for Automotive 2022, detailing short -, medium-and long-term R & D priorities to support automotive customers in the aluminum industry. The 2022 Aluminium Technology Roadmap for Automotive identifies key collaborative paths and priority opportunities among aluminum suppliers, recyclers, automakers, decision makers, non-governmental organizations and other industry stakeholders to drive innovation over the next decade.

Mike Keown, chairman of the Alcoa Automotive Committee and CEO of Commonwealth Aluminum Rolling, said: "from electric and Internet vehicles to indigenous technology and supplier sustainability, the automotive industry is undergoing a structural shift in design, propulsion, materials and manufacturability. To adapt to this moment, the aluminum industry is preparing to introduce to the market the most advanced automotive alloys and product designs in history. This technology roadmap details where we are today, where we are going, as well as specific paths and priorities that will accelerate technological advances to support automakers who believe that passenger cars and trucks are far superior to any means of transport on today's roads to meet consumer needs in the next decade and beyond. "

In response to the rapid development of the era of traffic electrification, Alcoa convened industry stakeholders in March 2021 to identify and address current challenges facing automotive aluminum, achieve goals in five key areas and identify technical ways to achieve these goals. As a result, the technology roadmap report was drafted, which the Aluminium Association described as "cooperation before competition in the automotive aluminum industry in a fast-growing market", clarifying the common direction of the aluminum industry.

A summary of the main technical routes identified in the report is published as follows:

Aluminum is the basic element of vehicle structure in the past, present and future. From Audi's dominance in the early 1990s with A2 and A8 models, to the all-aluminum Chrysler cruise car Prowler, in 1997, to the aluminum alloy body Fly150 in 2015 and more recently, Jaguar's first all-electric innovative model, Imurpac, the design of aluminum alloy has spanned decades.

As the fastest growing automotive material, aluminum will drive the design of next-generation transportation solutions and become the first choice for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicle (EV) engineers. Automakers and suppliers are innovating rapidly to track trends and respond to changing consumer needs and global priorities for protecting the planet. In response to these trends and in line with environmental priorities, the aluminum industry is listening to calls from automakers for greater cooperation and engineering collaboration to understand and communicate key technologies that aluminum producers are committed to developing in the near and long term. The 2022 automotive aluminum roadmap, a blueprint jointly developed by aluminium producers, responds to this call by setting research and development targets to boost aluminium production over the next decade.

The purpose of the automotive roadmap is to detail the solutions of automotive aluminum products in the next decade in all aspects of the value chain. The aluminum industry has identified several sustainable paths forward, including the optimization of cooperation with vehicle systems, the technology to predict aluminum alloy performance, the process of integrating parts to improve the efficiency of future vehicle design, and the expansion of aluminum recovery and sorting processes. to achieve a more environmentally friendly manufacturing ecosystem. Aluminum has jointly identified five key themes that help achieve the overall goal of improving vehicle performance and increasing the value of aluminum to automakers.

Design engineering

Design is an iterative decision-making process, usually supported by basic science, process design tools, computational models, and a wide range of physical and chemical data. Design engineering, the first topic on the road map, outlines three key objectives around cooperation between automakers and suppliers, including raising awareness of the advantages of aluminum to build better cars and addressing key design challenges. and create future products with excellent performance.

Aluminum industry experts will continue to work with automotive design engineers to determine the necessity of the entire automotive project and to select aluminum in automotive strategic areas to achieve the best results in production and performance. In less than five to 10 years, the goal of the aluminum industry is to establish open access resources for the coordination of design data across the value chain, optimize material connection processes to improve efficiency, and improve the manufacturability of aluminum components for rugged future vehicles. Eventually, this cooperation will lead to improvements in structural design to further reduce vehicle weight. Aluminum manufacturers are also working to develop general specifications to communicate effectively with OEMs through greater flexibility. The aluminum industry will also promote more research to develop detailed, relevant and updated material data for forming and manufacturing simulations. These goals will bring new opportunities for designing products with higher security, recyclability, long life, and end-user satisfaction.

New alloys and products

For a long time, the high-strength properties of aluminum have been associated with national defense and aerospace applications. Engineers must use the experience gained from these applications to innovate the next generation of 6xxx and 7xxx alloys for use in the automotive industry.

The roadmap sets out several goals to improve the performance characteristics of aluminum alloys, expand research on specific shape grades, and improve recovery capacity. Through these goals, the aluminum industry sees opportunities in casting and extruding aluminum profiles, rolling aluminum (i.e. enhanced strength and formability) and recyclable alloys. The industry is committed to working with automakers to redesign alloys and develop new alloys for different processes.

There are three specific data-driven action plans to address new alloy and product challenges. First, the industry must customize alloys for high performance requirements in automotive OEM specific applications to meet automotive needs. The next focus is on the use of data analysis and alloy performance prediction modeling. This technology will improve the design and production of new alloys. Finally, you need to create standardized methods to test, verify performance, and identify new materials and components.

Future vehicles

As new vehicles enter the market, the era of widely used aluminum-intensive electric vehicles is coming. Based on the inherent corrosion resistance, efficiency and collision performance advantages of aluminum, aluminum has provided lightweight and high-strength solutions for future vehicles. DuckerFrontier Consulting Company released the "2020 North American Light vehicle Aluminum Survey and Prospect report" (North American Light vehicle Aluminum Survey report released, aluminum is the fastest growing automotive material! The research shows that with the development of electrification, the demand for aluminum extrusions and high-pressure aluminum die castings will increase significantly due to the increase of applications such as battery shell, motor shell and car body structural parts.

The future vehicle goals defined in the roadmap relate to components and markets that provide maximum potential for aluminum, including a significant share of the BEV market, and preparation for vehicles designed in 2025, with a focus on weight range balance. Although mainly focused on passenger vehicles, the aluminum industry is also preparing to expand to commercial and heavy vehicles, military vehicles and last-mile transport vehicles. As with all other roadmap themes, future vehicle goals cannot be achieved without critical research. These studies include the exploration of highly formable alloys, alloy development of battery assemblies, and production methods to improve the value and efficiency of BEV.

New generation of processing technology

Component connection is a very important manufacturing technology in automobile industry. Materials aside, bonding processes are critical in all automotive applications because they affect vehicle durability, noise and vibration smoothness (NVH) performance, maneuverability and collision energy management. In addition to traditional manufacturing processes such as casting and extrusion, aluminum can also be used in the manufacture of automotive parts in the form of powder.

Compared with competitive materials in existing and future vehicles, the next-generation manufacturing goal of the roadmap focuses on improving manufacturing methods to further increase the value of aluminum. In general, next-generation processing technologies provide opportunities to reduce material costs, improve production quality and enhance the sustainability of manufacturing workshops. The aluminum industry has experienced casting innovation, such as Tesla's large casting (Giga Casts) strategy, which produces a Y-car with only one rear body part that can replace 70 different parts in the original vehicle. Other carmakers are also using this process to improve the efficiency of their parts. The aluminum industry has identified three action plans to keep pace with the development of the next generation of manufacturing processes, including the development of alloys and rolling processes to improve formability, real-time collection of process data at all steps of the manufacturing process, and smart manufacturing practices, to continue to innovate Industry 4.0.

Regeneration and sustainability

Aluminum used in automotive applications already contains a lot of recycled aluminum, but there is still a good chance of getting more recycled aluminum. In the 2020 paper published in Resource, Conservation and Recycling magazine (RCR), experts from the University of Michigan, Ford and Light Metals Consultants used dynamic material flow analysis to estimate the amount of aluminum body (ABS) scrap generated from the highest-selling car in the United States today. They found that if production continues at current production rates, "the aluminum body (ABS) waste of these vehicles will increase to about 125000 tons per year in 2035 and to 246000 tons per year in 2050. Most of the waste will be used in vehicle manufacturing and processing in the United States, and 10% of the waste will come from cancelled vehicle exports or scrapped vehicles. "

The development of the next generation of crushed aluminum sorting technology with high speed, alloy selectivity and low cost is a priority for the aluminum industry to prepare for this wave of ABS waste. The goals of aluminum recovery and sustainability include a more efficient aluminum waste recycling infrastructure, improved waste utilization, while widely promoting automotive aluminum as a sustainable solution at all manufacturing stages. The aluminum industry has the opportunity to work with automakers to improve the recovery of automotive scrap (EOL), reduce carbon emissions from processing and aluminum production, and be consistent with competitive materials on a common baseline to compare carbon emissions from material processing. The objectives in this topic are of inherent importance and will be carried out in conjunction with other themes in the road map, such as the inclusion of design elements to ensure that parts can be effectively dismantled and recycled, thus helping to establish a much-needed circular economy in transportation.

Industrial innovation blueprint

This huge undertaking cannot become a reality without the strategic input of aluminum producers and stakeholders throughout the value chain. In an atmosphere of supply chain disruptions, worker shortages, technical barriers and growing calls to combat climate change, carmakers, suppliers and federal regulators all face unique hurdles. so the aluminum industry needs to provide smart solutions to support it. (ATG), the Alcoa aluminum transportation group, is honored to represent aluminum member companies that are committed to using the roadmap as an industry innovation blueprint for continuous cooperation.

This road map is just the beginning. Each year ATG and its members will re-evaluate the paths and themes identified in the document to reflect market volatility, environmental changes and any unforeseen industry evolution. All of ATG's future work will focus on innovation, involving design engineering, new alloy products, future vehicles, new generation aluminum manufacturing technologies, and recycling and sustainability.

In today's society, aluminum provides the fastest, safest, most environmentally friendly and value-added ways to improve vehicle performance, improve fuel efficiency, expand battery mileage and reduce emissions. The aluminum industry is a key contributor to American manufacturing and has made more than $4 billion in investment over the past decade to support the growing demand for aluminum. Aluminum producers will also unite and work together to promote the future of sustainable transport. The road map promotes this unity and progress and as a dynamic and dynamic guidance document will be continuously reviewed and updated over the next decade.