Materials War Heats Up

After a Long Lull, the Automotive materials war is heating up.

Spurred once again by soaring fuel prices, fuel-economy mandates and demands by auto makers to dramatically chop weight on future cars and trucks, alternative materials such as aluminum, magnesium, plastics and carbon fiber all are targeting new gains, mostly at the expense of steel.

And suppliers laid out their sales pitches hard and heavy at the recent Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI.

As Center for Automotive Research CEO Jay Baron aptly puts it, “The statements are all true, but debatable.”

Almost every major auto maker now is on a crash program to slash weight and boost fuel economy of upcoming cars and trucks. Producers of lightweight alternatives see this as a new opportunity to displace incumbent materials.

Ford Motor Co. has stated it plans to chop 250-750 lbs. (114-340 kg) from future models as part of its midterm plan to improve fuel economy. Other auto makers are looking for similar results.

Experts speaking at MBS say it is unlikely OEMs can meet future fuel- economy mandates unless they combine weight reductions with smaller engines and other powertrain technologies.

“We are entering a new world,” says Michael Bull, director-automotive technology, Novelis North American Inc., a major aluminum producer.

Steel was engaged in a knockdown, drag-out fight with lightweight challengers through much of the 1980s and '90s, as auto makers experimented with plastic- and aluminum-intensive vehicles.

These included General Motors Corp.'s plastic-bodied Saturn vehicles and aluminum-skinned sedans built by Audi AG and Ford Motor Co.'s Jaguar unit.

By this decade, the landscape had changed. Fuel prices were low and auto makers were disillusioned with alternatives. Saturns were criticized for wide door-panel gaps necessary to accommodate plastic's tendency to expand when warm, while the aluminum body panels proved expensive and difficult to stamp.

Since then, steel has stood its ground in volume segments with high-strength alloys that can be formed into lighter-weight structures, says Ron Krupitzer, vice president-Automotive Applications, American Iron and Steel Institute.

But the old battle lines are once again drawn as proponents of aluminum, magnesium, plastics and carbon fiber play up their benefits and diss the competition.

Aluminum already owns most major engine, transmission and heat-exchanger applications, but Bull, of Novelis, says roofs on big cross/utility vehicles and SUVs are a ripe new application for the metal.

Aluminum roofs are attractive because their light weight lowers the center of gravity of tall vehicles, making it more difficult for them to roll over, Bull says.

Bigger vehicles already have aluminum hoods, but applications await on smaller, lower-cost, high-volume vehicles, as well as deck lids and liftgates.

George Racine, of the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council, says plastics comprise 8%-12% of vehicle weight. “We see that doubling by 2020,” he says, touting plastic's ability to reduce weight and cost through parts consolidation. He says numerous structural parts and body panels, such as deck lids, are well-suited for more plastic applications.

Lightweight plastic high-pressure fuel tanks also make alternative-fuel vehicles more viable, he adds, and there now are many more ways to recycle or reuse plastics. It's even possible to break down plastic scrap and reclaim the petroleum feedstocks from which they are made.

Magnesium, which is one-third the weight of steel, has a bright future in automotive, says Steve Groat, managing director of both Alloy Technologies International Pty. Ltd. and T-Mag Pty. Ltd.

Usually considered expensive and difficult to weld, Groat says a new T-Mag process makes it easier to cost-effectively form magnesium components. Magnesium now is a much easier choice for structural components, wheels and transmission and engine components, he says.

But steel remains the most recycled and reused automotive material of all. After all the materials wars of the past three or four decades, the AISI's Krupitzer says the steel content of a typical vehicle has not changed much. It still is about 60%.

Let the battle begin.

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