Aluminum Makes its Case for Electric Vehicles

October 22, 2009

The battle between materials for the next-generation vehicles continues to heat up. A new study by the Aluminum Association claims a savings of up to $3,000 per electric vehicle can be achieved by reducing structure weight by 10 percent with aluminum.

“As automakers gear up for a new generation of plug-in electric vehicles, the high cost of battery power remains a barrier,” says Michael Bull, Director of Automotive Technology for Novelis. “What this new report shows is that by upgrading from traditional steel to an advanced aluminum body structure, the vehicle’s stored energy requirements can be cut by about 10 percent, which could save up to $3,000 per vehicle since less power and energy is required to move the lighter vehicle.” Bull is a representative of the Aluminum Association

Posted by Doug Smock on October 22, 2009 | Comments (5)

Industries: Materials/Fastening, Software/Hardware

November 5, 2009

In response to: Aluminum Makes its Case for Electric Vehicles
Fiero Larry commented:

What ever happened to the injection molded, two piece auto body/frame that Chrysler and Husky pioneered 10-15 years ago? They claimed that the cost of a current Neon body was 80% of the cost of making a car and could be reduced by 75% by molding and assembling a few pieces and painting only outside surfaces. They pointed out that there is a tremendous investment in sheet metal stamping tools, welding, etc, and the investment and environmental protection costs of a painting operation to dip and paint all inside and outside body surfaces are very high too.

November 4, 2009

In response to: Aluminum Makes its Case for Electric Vehicles
jerryd commented:

I agree a lighter glider is necessary but by going to composites you can drop the weight 40%, not 10%. I build custom unibody composite EV's in medium tech, not CF, and it only weighs 560lbs total without batteries for a crash resistant, as good as a steel car, 2 seat EV.
This allows me to use a 50% smaller battery with about the same range. Since cars cost by the lb, it could be built in mass production for under $15k with 100 mile range and 80mph with Lithium batteries, $12k with lead.
As I build composite boats for a living, the composite body part can be built for under $1500 in mass production for molds, material, labor.
Even in steel bodies, foam with composite skins can be far lighter and more crash resistant.

November 4, 2009

In response to: Aluminum Makes its Case for Electric Vehicles
R Mayer commented:

Newer alloys and processing techniques to improve HCF and LCF are available. With proper design and application of these aluminum materials, vehicle components can be as durable as required for satisfactory life cycles. When you need the best, make it from a forging.

November 4, 2009

In response to: Aluminum Makes its Case for Electric Vehicles
Jim787 commented:

I doubt that these lighter vehicles would be able to survive even 20K miles on NY streets without structural cracking. NY is just one city with lousy roads, what about the rest.

October 22, 2009

In response to: Aluminum Makes its Case for Electric Vehicles
Test comment commented:

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