Automotive Engineering International covers the latest news and developments in cars, light trucks, commercial vehicles, and motorcycles. A new international sustainability study on automotive materials highlights aluminum’s and magnesium’s superior lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction and energy savings benefits.

The results of the study were presented at the Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) 2010 World Congress in Detroit, MI, earlier this month. Initiated to explore the potential for increased use of magnesium in automobiles, the Magnesium Front End Research Development (MFERD) project conducted a full life-cycle assessment study on the impact of steel, magnesium and aluminium front end parts in a Cadillac CTS and concluded aluminium was the environmental winner.

“We appreciate the unbiased approach taken by MFERD in exploring what technologies and materials can help improve the total lifecycle performance in vehicles,” said Randall Scheps, chairman of the US Aluminum Association’s Aluminum Transportation Group and marketing director, Alcoa Inc. “We have been saying for years that the answer to better fuel economy and lower emissions is a holistic, multi-material approach combining strong light materials like aluminium and magnesium with smart design and advanced powertrains. When you take a holistic approach, safety and comfort are not compromised – and efficiency can be greatly improved.”

The study, a collaborative effort between organizations in Canada, the US and China, found that when analyzing the full lifecycle of the metals, magnesium delivers 15 per cent energy savings compared to a steel design and aluminium yields 20 per cent energy savings. When looking at the total life cycle CO2 emissions, magnesium is 12 per cent better than steel and aluminium is 20 per cent better. The aluminium design achieved the best lifetime performance for overall energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

The aluminium industry is a global leader among metals suppliers in advocating full lifecycle analysis (LCA). LCA encompasses not only the fuel economy benefits and emissions savings, but also the environmental impacts related to mining, refining, smelting and recycling.

On this basis, every kilogram of aluminium used in an automobile saves 20 kg of CO2 emissions over the lifetime of the vehicle. In fact, lightweighting the world’s overall transportation fleet through the use of aluminium has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 660 million tonnes annually, or nearly 9 per cent of global, transportation-related greenhouse gas emission.

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