BIA-Brukerstyrt innovasjonsarena

Aluminium in automotive applications contributes to light-weighting transportation and reducing carbon emissions in the use phase. When the entire life cycle of passenger vehicles is considered, i.e. taking into account both the production and use-phase in the overall balance, the relevance of the production phase of the car becomes obvious. Higher sustainability demands from the automotive sector on material production opens a market for sustainable materials with documented environmental conscious production and a low carbon footprint along the entire value chain. This project focuses on the production phase of heat-exchanger materials for the automotive sector with an overall aim to develop low-carbon footprint sheet ingot materials for heat-exchangers, aligned with Hydros certified product classes for low-CO2 emissions, Reduxa and Circal. The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions from current levels by at least 1 ton per ton aluminium produced. Processes and products developed shall be ready for environmental product declaration (EPD) and fulfil the quality demands on heat-exchanger materials. A sustainability calculator for estimation of carbon footprint in the production phase of sheet ingot materials has been esteablished. Available scrap sources are being assessed and evaluated. Selected scrap sources have been investigated in small scale melting tests determining oxide content and chemical composition. A modelling framework for predicting the effect of addition of scrap materials to a charge will affect hot-tearing sensitivity and microstructure has been established and used to evaluate selected scrap sources. The modelling framework has also been used in combination with a small scale hot-tearing test to evaluate how the cracking tendency depends on the alloy composition.

Aluminium in automotive applications contributes to light-weighting transportation and reducing carbon emissions in the user phase. Due to the global push for sustainable development and the transformation into a more circular and resource efficient economy, the sustainability of materials in the production phase has come into focus as well. When the entire life cycle of passenger vehicles is considered, i.e. taking into account both the production and use-phase in the overall balance, the relevance of the production phase of the car becomes obvious. Higher sustainability demands from the automotive sector on material production opens a market for sustainable materials with documented environmental conscious production and a low carbon footprint along the entire value chain. This project focuses on the production phase of heat-exchanger materials for the automotive sector with an overall aim to develop low-carbon footprint sheet ingot materials, aligned with Hydros certified product classes for low-CO2 emissions, Reduxa and Circal. The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions from current levels by at least 1 ton per ton aluminium produced. Processes and products developed shall be ready for environmental product declaration (EPD) and fulfil the quality demands on heat-exchanger materials. This will be done through selection of documented sustainable raw materials (Al, Si and alloying materials) produced with clean and sustainable energy sources and low emissions, increasing the content of recycled materials, alloy design that enable down-gauging of metal sheets with higher recycled content and process improvements that increase yield.