Steel is taking the lead as a key material for the future development of the electric cars production, ArcelorMittal explains in a note sent to Kallanish.
ArcelorMittal director for automotive product applications Bala Krishnan notes that advanced high-strength steels, for example, offer greater strength per unit than other competing materials. This is because electric vehicles require greater reinforcement to protect the battery and the passengers in the event of a crash.
In addition to that, steel remains cheaper than aluminium and other light-weighting products. As carmakers battle to make electric vehicles affordable for the public, steel is returning to be a material of choice.
“After building its first two luxury models with aluminium, Tesla recently shifted to a blend of steel and aluminium for the body and chassis of its mass-market Tesla Model 3. The shift is even also occurring among premium ICE vehicles, including the Audi A8. The vehicle is abandoning its heavy use of aluminium in favour of a mixed material approach, while Audi considers a fully electric version for the next generation of the model,” the steelmaker explains.
The entire automotive sector supply chain is increasingly interested in the emissions produced in vehicle manufacturing. Steel requires seven times less energy than aluminium to be produced. As greater emphasis shifts to the production of these vehicles, manufacturers must consider that the production of aluminium requires seven times more energy than steel, ArcelorMittal says.
“Offering the optimal balance of strength, performance and mass weight reduction with the least impact on the environment, steel is the material of choice for today’s vehicles and will be the OEM’s choice for the electric vehicles of tomorrow,” Krishnan concludes.
