Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ALMA (Advanced Light MAterials and processes for the eco-design of electric vehicles)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-02-01 bis 2022-07-31
An increasing concern on environmental awareness and issues related to the growing material demand and societal awareness motivates the automotive industry to consider new strategies to reduce the environmental impact. The introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) is part of the solution, but further improvements must be carried out for a wider market acceptance. In addition, special attention should be paid to actions taken at the vehicle’s end-of-life.
At the moment, only a very small part of automotive components and materials are being recycled. This situation could dramatically change with the progressive introduction in the market of metal-plastic hybrid platforms and the forthcoming updates of end-of-life (EoL) legislative requirements. As a result, recycling and recovery rates are expected to significantly grow and involve more material mix. Therefore, the well-established networks working on the collection and treatment of EoL vehicles will need to deal with these new structural materials.
A great deal of work on lightweight cost-effective strategies has been underway in the last decades (also via European projects) to solve these issues. According to recent EU project results, up to 30-40% weight reduction was achieved at prototype level, but further efforts are needed to push technology up to the market. Besides, the adoption of circular economy principles across the entire automotive life-cycle is needed to enable, on one hand, the integration of environmental and cost considerations at the early design stages and, on the other hand, new options for the end-of-life recovery, reuse and recycling.
ALMA is an EU project started in 2021 that involves 9 partners from 4 different EU countries. The main objective of ALMA is the development of a novel electric vehicle structure for a passenger car with reduced weight and environmental impact thanks to the adoption of an integrated circular approach across the entire life cycle supported by LCA and LCC tools as core activities. For this purpose, the major technical challenges addressed are the development of:
i. novel advanced light materials with structural performances (advanced steel and composites);
ii. eco-design principles to redefine the vehicle architecture (body-in-white, chassis and closures) towards a long-life service and reduced production of wastes;
iii. innovative structural joining technologies with heat-triggered reversible ability to enable efficient separation of dissimilar material joints at the EoL;
iv. multiscale model-based and experimental characterization tools to guarantee the structural integrity and reliability of the novel hybrid structure for an extended operation;
v. novel in-service monitoring and inspection system integrated on the vehicle structure based on acoustic emissions to detect and diagnose structural health, thus enabling efficient reuse and repair at EoL.
vi. design of effective recycling and recovery optimized for the novel material concepts.
vii. LCC and LCA methodology that is capable to assess all previous developments interactively during the development process.
At the moment, only a very small part of automotive components and materials are being recycled. This situation could dramatically change with the progressive introduction in the market of metal-plastic hybrid platforms and the forthcoming updates of end-of-life (EoL) legislative requirements. As a result, recycling and recovery rates are expected to significantly grow and involve more material mix. Therefore, the well-established networks working on the collection and treatment of EoL vehicles will need to deal with these new structural materials.
A great deal of work on lightweight cost-effective strategies has been underway in the last decades (also via European projects) to solve these issues. According to recent EU project results, up to 30-40% weight reduction was achieved at prototype level, but further efforts are needed to push technology up to the market. Besides, the adoption of circular economy principles across the entire automotive life-cycle is needed to enable, on one hand, the integration of environmental and cost considerations at the early design stages and, on the other hand, new options for the end-of-life recovery, reuse and recycling.
ALMA is an EU project started in 2021 that involves 9 partners from 4 different EU countries. The main objective of ALMA is the development of a novel electric vehicle structure for a passenger car with reduced weight and environmental impact thanks to the adoption of an integrated circular approach across the entire life cycle supported by LCA and LCC tools as core activities. For this purpose, the major technical challenges addressed are the development of:
i. novel advanced light materials with structural performances (advanced steel and composites);
ii. eco-design principles to redefine the vehicle architecture (body-in-white, chassis and closures) towards a long-life service and reduced production of wastes;
iii. innovative structural joining technologies with heat-triggered reversible ability to enable efficient separation of dissimilar material joints at the EoL;
iv. multiscale model-based and experimental characterization tools to guarantee the structural integrity and reliability of the novel hybrid structure for an extended operation;
v. novel in-service monitoring and inspection system integrated on the vehicle structure based on acoustic emissions to detect and diagnose structural health, thus enabling efficient reuse and repair at EoL.
vi. design of effective recycling and recovery optimized for the novel material concepts.
vii. LCC and LCA methodology that is capable to assess all previous developments interactively during the development process.
For this initial period, WP1 has started with the definition of the technical requirements and the gathering of the date for the sustainability and LCA-LCC assessment. In M15 a web-based LCA-LCC tool called BEVSIM was launched to the public. WP2 was in charge of the fine-tuning of the advanced lightweight materials, based on advanced steel and structural composites. This WP2 is now ended and its objectives achieved. WP3 was initiated with the definition of the vehicle architecture and the conversion of the ICE model into a BEV. The eco-design of the vehicle structure and the components were included in this WP and also the CAE simulations to virtually validate the design approaches. This WP3 is about to end but the last pending deliverable requested a delivery extension (further explained in section 5.1). WP4 was related with the efficient manufacturing methods and the development of the reversible assembly methodology. This WP, is still in progress, will be based on a technology which will use a heat triggered adhesive with structural properties.
WP5 has been initiated with the experimental testing campaign to support the virtual simulation tools in order to deliver accurate predictions of the material behaviour. Some iterations of simulations have been made so far. WP6 was started a bit earlier, as agreed with the PO, to determine the SHM requirements. Some AE based prototypes have been developed at the moment and tests are now running. WP7 was initiated with a study to identify potential options for recycling in ALMA. The most promising ones were pyrolysis, solvolysis or dissolution so now the testing campaign is running by.
WP9 was initiated with the creation of the communication package and the project website. Two versions of the PEDR were delivered so far (M6 and M18). Clustering activities were also supported. Impact and exploitation activities were coordinated to identify the KERs. WP10 was successfully implemented to support project coordination and management.
WP5 has been initiated with the experimental testing campaign to support the virtual simulation tools in order to deliver accurate predictions of the material behaviour. Some iterations of simulations have been made so far. WP6 was started a bit earlier, as agreed with the PO, to determine the SHM requirements. Some AE based prototypes have been developed at the moment and tests are now running. WP7 was initiated with a study to identify potential options for recycling in ALMA. The most promising ones were pyrolysis, solvolysis or dissolution so now the testing campaign is running by.
WP9 was initiated with the creation of the communication package and the project website. Two versions of the PEDR were delivered so far (M6 and M18). Clustering activities were also supported. Impact and exploitation activities were coordinated to identify the KERs. WP10 was successfully implemented to support project coordination and management.
According to the EC, +80% of the environment impact of a product is determined at the design stage. Therefore, it becomes crucial to consider the whole ecological footprint as an essential criterion during the development of a new car. Then it comes a new set of methods and tools of development, known as Eco-design. The application of circular economy approach in vehicles design requires actions as new End-of-Life (EoL) recovery options and shift from recycling to remanufacturing and reuse.
However, the automotive OEMs should also comply user requirements and react to the market demands. Indeed, the automotive industry faces growing complexity and cost pressure; there is need for globalized platforms that allow speeding up the ROI as the new technologies can be used across different brands and models and reduce the lead time. At the same time, OEMs must launch an increased number of model variants to meet different customer demands per region and age group. The solution is the use of a versatile platforms.
ALMA will develop a new EV platform strategy where both requirements of standardization and modularity will be reached, which will promote the reuse and recovery of the platform at the EoL following a circularity approach. This novel vehicle structure will be composed by a state-of-the-art mix of lightweight structural materials. These materials have been used at prototype level in concept cars (also via European projects) achieving 20% additional potential weight reduction compared to the state-of-the-art, but further efforts need to be invested to push an actual market uptake.
Reversible joining of multi-material structures is a required condition to guarantee the circularity approach of the vehicle construction. Those joining systems should ensure high mechanical requirements and reliability during the lifespan of the car while allowing an easy dismantling at the EoL. In ALMA, heat triggered adhesives will be used. Finally, one of the most important challenges of many of the materials used in light-weight automotive in general and ELV in particular is that these often have a complex composition. So effective solutions for recycling of waste materials and recovery of reusable materials will be assessed and tested in ALMA for promising technologies such as gasification, pyrolysis and dissolution.
However, the automotive OEMs should also comply user requirements and react to the market demands. Indeed, the automotive industry faces growing complexity and cost pressure; there is need for globalized platforms that allow speeding up the ROI as the new technologies can be used across different brands and models and reduce the lead time. At the same time, OEMs must launch an increased number of model variants to meet different customer demands per region and age group. The solution is the use of a versatile platforms.
ALMA will develop a new EV platform strategy where both requirements of standardization and modularity will be reached, which will promote the reuse and recovery of the platform at the EoL following a circularity approach. This novel vehicle structure will be composed by a state-of-the-art mix of lightweight structural materials. These materials have been used at prototype level in concept cars (also via European projects) achieving 20% additional potential weight reduction compared to the state-of-the-art, but further efforts need to be invested to push an actual market uptake.
Reversible joining of multi-material structures is a required condition to guarantee the circularity approach of the vehicle construction. Those joining systems should ensure high mechanical requirements and reliability during the lifespan of the car while allowing an easy dismantling at the EoL. In ALMA, heat triggered adhesives will be used. Finally, one of the most important challenges of many of the materials used in light-weight automotive in general and ELV in particular is that these often have a complex composition. So effective solutions for recycling of waste materials and recovery of reusable materials will be assessed and tested in ALMA for promising technologies such as gasification, pyrolysis and dissolution.