DuPont, BMW M GmbH, Dow Inc., Toyota, General
Motors, and others creating sustainable, lightweight future
TROY, Mich., Aug. 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR), a global leader in
computational intelligence, has named the winners of the 2024
Altair Enlighten Award. Presented in association with the Center
for Automotive Research (CAR), the award honors the greatest
sustainability and lightweighting advancements that successfully
reduce carbon footprint, mitigate water and energy consumption, and
leverage material reuse and recycling efforts.
Throughout its 12-year history, this prestigious Enlighten Award
has become a coveted prize sought after by the automotive
industry's most forward-thinking companies. It was also recognized
by EV Magazine as a top 10 sustainability award in 2024.
"The Enlighten Award is the leading award highlighting the
automotive industry's finest innovations in sustainable technology.
We are thrilled to once again recognize the organizations creating
a more sustainable future," said James R.
Scapa, founder and chief executive officer, Altair. "This
year's winners can consider themselves the best innovators meeting
those challenging targets."
"Each edition of the Enlighten Award showcases the products,
processes, and organizations that are ushering in the next
generation of groundbreaking automotive technology," said
Alan Amici, president and chief
executive officer, Center for Automotive Research. "We cannot wait
to recognize this year's winners, and we are once again thrilled to
present this award in conjunction with Altair and the rest of our
valued partners."
Below is the complete list of all winning organizations,
runners-up, and honorable mentions.
Sustainable Product
Winner: DuPont – DuPont™
BETAMATE™ Broad Bake Adhesive Technology
- DuPont™ BETAMATE™ broad bake adhesive technology helps
reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions during vehicle body
manufacturing by allowing adhesives to cure at lower temperatures,
thus saving energy via reduced e-coat oven temperatures and shorter
oven cycle times. The technology also eliminates the need for cold
storage thanks to a special formulation that extends shelf
life.
Runner-up: Bridgestone Americas – Turanza EV Tire
- The Turanza EV grand touring tire is manufactured with 50%
renewable and recycled materials – one of the highest percentages
among commercially available replacement tires – and features
Bridgestone ENLITEN™ technology to optimize performance and improve
tire life span. By 2050, Bridgestone is aiming for all their tires
to be composed of 100% renewable and recycled materials.
Sustainable Process
Winner: BMW M GmbH, AMC GmbH,
Bcomp Ltd., Gradel Lightweight Sàrl, and Lasso
Ingenieurgesellschaft – BMW M Visionary Materials Seat
- The BMW M Visionary Materials Seat focuses on circular
design principles and sustainable materials. The seat features a
monomaterial lightweight design that emphasizes using sustainable,
renewable materials such as recycled polyester textile, flaxfiber
BioComposite, and biogene leather alternatives. Where possible,
petrol-based raw materials through bio-based materials were made
from algaes and plant-based fillers – such as chalk and cork. The
composite can be made from carbon, basalt, glass fiber, or natural
fibers as needed.
Runner-up: Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada
and PPG Industries – EPIC200X Electrocoat
- The EPIC200X electrocoat enhances corrosion protection for
automotive bodies while significantly reducing environmental
impact. At the Toyota facility, the new product and application
process enables a total reduction of 3,500 metric tons of CO2
emissions per year. More specifically, the new product reduces the
amount of applied product by vehicle by 0.6 kg, while the new
application process saves 5,626,000 kWh of energy and 1,843,000
gallons of water per year.
Module Lightweighting
Winner: Syensqo and
General Motors – High-Performance Thermoplastic Battery Module
Structure
- Syensqo and General Motors have collaboratively designed an
innovative high-performance thermoplastic battery module structure
that delivers a remarkable 37% weight reduction and a 25% cost
savings compared to traditional aluminum. Key features include
enhanced vehicle performance through precision injection molding,
streamlined component consolidation for simplified assembly, and a
unique cell-lock feature that stabilizes battery cells.
Additionally, the design eliminates multiple components and
processes, further optimizing efficiency.
Runner-up: Toyota Motor Company, US Farathane, and BASF
Corporation – Toyota Tacoma Second-Row Composite Seat
Structure
- The Toyota Tacoma Second Row Comprise Seat Structure features
30% less mass than the previous generation of steel seats and 20%
less mass than the current resin seats seen in the 2022 Toyota
Tundra. In addition, the new seat structure consolidated more than
55 parts into just four parts that take little time to be injection
molded and shipped.
Enabling Technology
Winner: CompositeEdge GmbH –
Next-Gen Sustainable High-Performance Structures
- Aiming to minimize overall material usage, CompositeEdge GmbH
utilized natural fiber composites – such as flax and hemp fiber –
blended with plastic to form high-performance structures that can
support the automated manufacture of car body panels, interior
trims, chassis parts, suspension elements, and more without
additional adhesives. The use of natural fiber composites
significantly reduces carbon emissions and energy consumption
compared to synthetic materials. Overall, the technology enables
the production of sustainable, lightweight automotive
components.
Runner-up: Teijin Automotive Technologies – Fully Automated
Preforming Process Enabling Complex CFRP Part
- Teijin Automotive Technologies' fully automated preforming
process enables the mass production of carbon fiber preforms to be
used in automotive components – in this case a vehicle door. The
precision of the automated process optimizes the amount of material
used and recycles a small amount of offal (waste). The previous
labor-intensive process was unsuitable for mass production and
often resulted in avoidable waste due to human error. The new
process is much more efficient, reducing required labor by
20%.
Honorable Mention: Bemis Manufacturing Company and BASF
Corporation – Large Hydraulic Tanks for Compact Excavators via
BASF's Ultramid Polyamide
- Bemis Manufacturing Company and BASF Corporation developed
large hydraulic tanks for compact excavators using BASF's
polyamide, which provided an eco-efficient solution that delivered
both environmental savings (reductions in life cycle CO2 emissions)
and reduced life cycle cost. In addition, by combining injection
molding and vibration welding, the approach resulted in 5% mass
savings and 20% lower costs compared to traditional
roto-molding.
Future of Lightweighting
Winner: WEAV3D, Braskem,
and Clemson Composites Center –
Cost-Effective Lightweight Vehicle Body Structures
- WEAV3D, Braskem, and the Clemson Composites Center developed a composite
lattice-reinforced polypropylene sheet tailorable to match the
performance of any vehicle body structure on the market.
Manufactured with a high rate, highly automated forming cycle that
produces more parts using less energy, the new sheet cost 50% less
and weighed 23% less than CFPA6 organosheet (nylon 6) and weighed
between 60-70% less than steel. The material also boasted a 62%
reduction in trim scrap by weight. Lastly, compared to steel, the
polypropylene sheet featured superior energy absorption and shape
recovery.
Runner-up: Carsolia Composites Corporation – Composite
Suspension Coil Spring by Carsolia
- Carsolia Composites Corporation introduced a patent-pending
composite coil spring that's 50% lighter than steel. The carbon
fiber composite material also has 50% less CO2 equivalent per
kilogram vs. steel, resulting in a 75% overall reduction of CO2
emissions. Manufactured with an efficient production process that
supports high volume vehicle production, the spring also enables
unique appearance design possibilities that were previously
impossible. Ideally suited for battery electric vehicle (BEV)
platforms, it's a direct replacement for current vehicles as a
"bolt-on solution" – no redesign needed.
Responsible AI
Winner: Dow Inc. – Sustainable
SPECFLEXTM Polyurethane Solutions
- Dow Inc.'s sustainable SPECFLEXTM polyurethane
solutions focus on developing and using cleaner raw materials and
unique design principles to optimize performance. Achieving
equivalent mechanical and ageing properties compared to traditional
formulations, these solutions are significantly safer and more
sustainable – with over 50% lower total volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), 60% lower formaldehyde, and 80% lower acetaldehyde.
Moreover, an AI aldehyde predictive model accelerates market
response by capturing the factors contributing to odor and
translating complicated non-linear features into real-world related
performance features – enabling outcome prediction.
As the world demands safer, more efficient and innovative
products and processes, Altair aims to transform design and
decision making by applying AI-powered engineering,
high-performance computing, and optimization throughout product
lifecycles. By helping customers accomplish this, Altair helps to
reduce the environmental impact of goods and services across a
broad array of industries worldwide. Altair's software technology
and consulting services are by their very essence at the core of
designing a healthier and more sustainable future for humanity. To
learn more, visit https://altair.com/sustainability.
The Enlighten Award winners will be announced in an awards
ceremony at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars on August 6, 2024, at 8:00
a.m. EDT. For more information about the Enlighten Award,
visit https://www.altair.com/enlighten-award/.
Partners for the 2024 Enlighten Award include Auto Bild Japan,
Autocar Professional, Automobil Industrie, Auto Messe Web, Auto
Messe Web Worldwide, Center for Automotive Research, Google Cloud,
Korean Society of Automotive Engineers (KSAE), SAE Automotive
Engineering, and Tech Briefs.
About Altair
Altair is a global leader in
computational intelligence that provides software and cloud
solutions in simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), data
analytics, and AI. Altair enables organizations across all
industries to compete more effectively and drive smarter decisions
in an increasingly connected world – all while creating a greener,
more sustainable future. To learn more, please visit
www.altair.com.
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