Automotive Aluminum Challenges Steel

Automotive designers in Detroit have a dilemma that they have been wrestling with for many years involving the use of aluminum in their new vehicle models. They love the metal’s strength-to-weight ratio, non-corrosive nature and performance characteristics. However, they dread repairability issues, fabrication concerns and cost and availability of the material. It has been these last factors that have put the reins on an automotive aluminum market that has seen only a relatively modest growth in the last 20 years.

Ferrous metals, mainly steel, still own the lion’s share of the automobile market, with about 70 percent of an average car’s composition devoted to steel sheet metal, forged steel parts and cast iron. Nonferrous metals, such as aluminum, make up about 12 percent of a car. Plastics have about 10 percent of the pie, and the rest is made up of rubber, glass, fluids and other materials.

These figures could change in the next decade, and the reasons are many. They include pressure to keep vehicle weight as low as possible to achieve better fuel economy and to offset weight additions caused by more safety and environmental features in vehicles; the advent of the electric vehicle where weight is an even bigger concern; and a more aggressive attempt by aluminum suppliers and manufacturers to penetrate the automobile manufacturing market.

If aluminum does increase its share of the automotive market, then recyclers can expect a change in their own businesses as they install new equipment, some still under development, to separate the various aluminum grades to minimize cross-contamination and recover more of the metal. Also, auto dismantlers may evolve with the market and remove more of the higher-in-value aluminum from the auto hulk.

Last year, North American automakers used 2.9 billion pounds of aluminum, a 15 percent increase over 1993, and the amount of aluminum used by the automotive industry annually has almost doubled in the last 10 years. For the first time in nearly two decades, the use of aluminum in passenger cars, trucks, buses, trailers and semi-trailers became the largest market of the industry, according to The Aluminum Association, Washington. Production of aluminum in 1994 for the transportation sector increased to more than 5 billion pounds, accounting for 25 percent of total aluminum industry shipments to all market sectors. Automotive aluminum is expected to increase 4 percent by the year 2000.

Although aluminum castings have made inroads for parts such as engine blocks, steering knuckles and cast oil pans, wrought aluminum has not, even though it has shown significant application uses lately for items such as trunk (deck) lids and hoods. The two main roadblocks continue to be the volatility of prices of aluminum and rising vehicle costs, as well as aluminum supply issues.

In 1980 it took the average U.S. family 18 weeks of wage earnings to afford the average cost of a new car. By 1992, the average price of a new car equaled 26 weeks of an average household income.

Automobile prices have skyrocketed mainly because carmakers keep adding new environmental, safety and luxury features to cars. Advancements such as side air-bags and global positioning system-based navigation systems, promise to hike the car prices further.

So this is why aluminum is having a tough time making massive, quick inroads into automotive design. Automakers are looking to offset upgrade costs, and right now steel is the less expensive material. It is also the tried and true material, and as long as steel makers keep finding ways to design their material for stronger and lighter applications, aluminum may be left in the back seat.

"There is an issue of cost that has to be dealt with by both the aluminum and automotive industries," says Jacques Bougie, president and CEO of Alcan Aluminum Ltd., Montreal. "It is critical for us to work with our partners in the auto industry to reinforce the value that aluminum brings to the automobile, while reducing system costs." Bougie says that the price of aluminum is still the biggest roadblock, but feels that the industry can compensate by lowering production costs. Ford is expected to announce soon that it has brought production costs with aluminum in line with steel.

"The initial cost or price per pound for aluminum does not tell the entire story," says Richard Schultz, chairman of the Aluminum Association’s Auto-motive and Light Truck Committee and director of worldwide automotive for Alcoa, Pittsburgh. "Aluminum parts typically cost twice as much as steel ones, but only weigh half as much as their steel counterparts. There are fuel savings and secondary weight savings, along with less corrosion and longer vehicle life. Plus, aluminum's high scrap value offsets its higher initial cost compared to steel."

Many in the automotive industry think that aluminum prices will skyrocket and supplies will be tight, forcing automakers to rethink the use of aluminum. Others, like Frank Weissert, vice president of sales for U.S. Reduction Co., a secondary aluminum smelter in Munster, Ind., are sure that sufficient aluminum will be available.

"There will not be an aluminum shortage because of increased use of the metal in autos," says Weissert. "What happened recently is that demand for aluminum shot up, and supply did not have enough time to catch up, so prices escalated. Right now, a lot of aluminum scrap is going overseas, and that will stop as demand strengthens here."

Bougie agrees that supply should not be a concern, pointing out that there was actually an oversupply of material until recently. "The time it takes to plan and build a greenfield smelter is less than the lead time for a new model car," he says.

Already, several new automotive casting plants are scheduled to open in the U.S. in the near future, with Japanese auto transplants opening the majority of them, according to Weissert. In all, there are 12 new aluminum casting plants being built in the U.S. – seven by Japanese companies, three by U.S. companies and two by European firms.

The number of aluminum smelters, however, is expected to decrease. "The bigger ones will continue to get bigger, adding more capacity, and the smaller ones will close due to tougher regulations and competition," says Weissert.

On the recycling side, some businesses are already planning for the anticipated increased demand for automotive aluminum.

IMCO Recycling, Irving, Texas, and Alchem Aluminum Inc, Coldwater, Mich., have formed a joint venture to build a new aluminum recycling plant to serve the automotive industry. The plant, expected to be in operational by 1997, will have a rated annual capacity of 150 million pounds.

About half of that capacity will be used to supply recycled metal in molten form to Alchem to produce specification aluminum alloys for the auto industry.

"This facility is a major step in our strategy to diversify into the supply of recycled metal to the transportation sector," says Frank Romanelli, IMCO president. "This is the fastest growing market for aluminum because of the increasing use of the metal in auto and truck production."

So, what can we expect in future automotive aluminum applications?

Already, Ford has committed to aluminum deck lids for its 1996 Taurus and Sable models, as well its F-series pickups. The new Oldsmobile Aurora and Buick Riviera models also have aluminum hoods, and Chrysler is planning an aluminum hood for its next generation LH model.

In addition, Chrysler says that its new Prowler limited-production roadster, due out in 1997, will employ more aluminum than any other car to date on the market. Reportedly, Alcoa will be making aluminum parts for Chrysler’s new Prowler from light-alloy extrusions, castings and stampings at a yet-to-be-completed aluminum parts plant in Ohio.

Ford, the world’s largest user of automotive aluminum, has also experimented with a concept Aluminum Intensive Vehicle – a replica of its Mercury Sable. The AIV is made with an aluminum mainframe, aluminum body panels and engine parts. Compared to a conventional Sable, the AIV achieved an overall reduction of 381 pounds due to the use of aluminum, and the company says that weight saving could be as high as 688 pounds because a smaller engine and lighter suspension parts would be needed. That would amount to an overall weight savings of 21 percent.

Weight savings are a significant advantage for aluminum. By shaving 800 pounds from a 3,400-pound vehicle, for example, fuel economy can be increased from 24 miles per gallon to 29 mpg. U.S. automakers are still striving to meet a federal 27.5 mpg Corporate Average Fuel Economy goal, but the average vehicle weight has been increasing about 1.2 percent per year due to safety and luxury upgrades.

Still another promising application for aluminum is the electric vehicle. After years, and even decades, of carmakers conceptualizing, testing and refining various models, it looks like the electric car is finally going to hit the streets. Just this month, General Motors revealed that it will put into production its EV1 electric car – a sport coupe that was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It will be the first production vehicle in North America to feature an all-aluminum structure.

The EV1 employs an Aluminum Vehicle Technology system from Alcan for the aluminum sheet-based structural components. The system uses an advanced pre-treated, lubricated aluminum sheet, stamped into structural panels using traditional production techniques, then assembled with a specially formulated adhesive, spot welds and/or mechanical fasteners.

The EV1 is expected to go 90 miles on one charge and have a top speed of about 80 miles per hour. Cost of the vehicle is expected to be around $35,000.

"There has always been a materials competition in the auto market, and that is good," says Bill Heenan, president of the Steel Recycling Institute. "But the reality is that steel is stronger, costs less, is easier to fabricate, easier to repair and helps keep insurance costs down. Many of the parts that switched to aluminum are now switching back to steel."

In order to stay on top, the steel industry has forged ahead with a new automotive mainframe – the vehicle’s skeletal structure to which other subsystems including the engine and drivetrain, suspension and interior components are attached. It does not include doors, hood and deck lid. The new mainframe is called the UltraLight Steel Auto Body.

A consortium of steel companies plans to invest $20 million during the next two years to construct demonstration auto bodies using the ULSAB. The project was motivated, in part, by White House desires to help the auto industry develop the next generation vehicle that can attain an 80 mpg rating.

A spokesperson for the ULSAB project says the new steel body concept reduces the weight of the body structure by up to 35 percent, lowers cost by 14 percent and improves torsional rigidity by as much as 132 percent, compared to a range of current vehicles in the four-door, mid-size class. Consortium officials say the new steel body structure design will help automobile manufacturers build safer, more affordable, and more environmentally responsible vehicles that meet increasing expectations for performance. Expected savings per car would be around $154.

As an additional environmental benefit, ULSAB’s lighter weight brings opportunities for secondary weight savings in other components. Lighter bodies allow for smaller, lighter engines, suspensions, brakes, tires wheels and other subsystems.

So is the ULSAB better than a comparable aluminum mainframe? Proponents of aluminum say that their metal is about one-third the weight of steel, but opponents say that more aluminum has to be used to achieve the strength needed, and more energy is consumed in the overall process.

"It takes more energy to make aluminum, so you have to look at the entire costs," says Heenan. "If adding aluminum causes the fuel economy of a vehicle to go up by one or two miles per gallon, are we really saving energy in the broad picture? No, because of all the up front costs. That’s why the electric car is a tough sell. Zero emissions out of the tailpipe do not tell the whole story. The energy to move the electric vehicle has to come from somewhere – a utility company – so you can’t look at it in a vacuum."

Greg Crawford, vice president of operations for the Steel Recycling Institute, says that there has to be an eye out for what is practical in the auto industry, "and right now, steel is the most practical material for cars."

Above and beyond the rhetoric about which material is best for autos, it is a fact that aluminum has gained market share in the last 20 years with cars today containing about 200 pounds of aluminum. The question is how much more they will contain in the future, with estimates ranging from 300 pounds to as high as 500 pounds. If substantial gains are realized, there will have be some shifting of the recycling infrastructure.

Both automotive steel and aluminum are known to be highly recyclable; however, Schultz believes that the steel industry has done a better job of communicating the recyclability of steel in autos than the aluminum industry has. "We are now turning up the dial and getting the word out that aluminum in autos is recoverable fairly easily," he says.

Operators of auto shredders already expect the impending boom of aluminum in cars and are preparing to recover it, according to Weissert. But will the large amounts of aluminum even reach the scrap dealers when large items such as hoods and engine blocks can be removed prior to shredding?

"Probably not," says Larry Daniels with the Vehicle Recycling Development Center, Highland Park, Mich., and an employee of General Motors. "I think you will start to see auto dismantlers removing those items for their metal value and those parts will not be going to the auto shredder."

"Dismantlers are going to adapt to the market," says Susan Porter, director of communications for the Automotive Recycling Association, Fairfax, Va. "Does that mean that dismantlers will start stacking hoods because of their aluminum value? I do not know. If there is a market and the dismantling is not too labor intensive and is cost effective, then it will happen."

The dismantler will probably remove more from the hulk if there is more aluminum and it is cost effective to do so, agrees Don Beagell, owner of Don’s Automotive Mall, Binghamton, N.Y. "We currently have a policy of removing all the aluminum that can be removed," he says. "Our first market would be to the collision industry if the body part is in good shape, because aluminum is harder to repair than steel. Our second market would be to sell the part for the value of its metal."

Because of the increase of automotive aluminum, Beagell says that some of the larger dismantlers already employ brokers to sell the metal.

Therefore, as more wrought-to-wrought recycling occurs, the dismantler will take on an even greater role in the recycling loop.

The major recycling concern, if more wrought aluminum is added that cannot be removed cost-effectively from vehicles, is being able to adequately separate it from lower grade aluminum castings after the hulk is shredded. Heenan says that the infrastructure is not in place to recover the various aluminum grades properly from vehicles. The aluminum shred, according to Heenan, cannot be used for making new auto parts because of the cross-contamination of alloys. "Maybe it can be used to make a new lawn chair, but that is not true close-the-loop recycling," he says.

One operator of an auto shredder, Jeff Cole, CEO of Ferrous Processing & Trading Co., Detroit, Mich., says that he has already experimented with techniques to effectively separate aluminum shred into its alloys.

"Technology usually responds to markets, and we have already experimented with separation techniques that I believe we would be able to internally finance and employ to effectively separate the various aluminum alloys," says Cole. "I am confident that I will be able to make an aluminum scrap-derived stream for the primary smelters when they are willing to accept it."

And that is the major problem right now in the aluminum industry, according to Cole – that the primary smelters do not accept scrap. "Right now, all aluminum scrap is going to the secondary smelters who only produce sows or ingots for castings," he says. "It is not a problem. The problem is with the primary smelters. To my knowledge, they are still not accepting any scrap. They are the ones that are producing the higher grade sheet aluminum for the wrought products."

If primary smelters begin accepting scrap, then separation becomes more critical because they need the higher grades of aluminum. Scrap from aluminum castings would be unacceptable for the primary smelters because those grades contain too much zinc and copper, for example. That is also why wrought aluminum is more expensive, because scrap is not used in production. Many scrap dealers, like Cole, feel that the primary aluminum smelters are 30 years behind the steel industry because they don’t take scrap.

Cole believes that simple logic would dictate that an aluminum intensive vehicle would mean less to shred at his end. "Whoever gets their hands on it will go to the bank," he quips. But he questions whether a car of this type will even make it to the market because of the cost to build it. He also questions intensive disassembly efforts. "The automobile is very complex," he adds, "and deep, radical disassembly just will not happen."

Although Cole would not elaborate on his alloy separation technique, there are at least three post-shredder separation techniques for aluminum shred that are currently being examined, according to Leroy D’Astolfo Jr., technical specialist for Alcoa, Pittsburgh, and a member of The Aluminum Association’s Automotive and Light Truck Committee. Those include rapid sorting using laser analysis to identify the aluminum composition and then mechanically sort it; thermomechanical separation or "hot crushing" to separate wrought and cast aluminum by taking advantage of differences in incipient melting temperatures of each alloy; and molten metal purification process such as fractional crystallization, electrolytic purification and vacuum distillation.

Companies processing the automotive hoods and other outside panels will have to also develop delacquering techniques like those used in aluminum can recycling to remove paints and coatings from the aluminum’s surface.

Will a radical shift in automotive material composition will occur? Although proponents of aluminum continue to push their case with automakers, Irvin Poston, manager of polymer composites for General Motors, predicts aluminum will only gain an overall 12 percent share during the next 10 years.

Those in the aluminum industry have higher expectations. "Automakers today are seriously considering a long-term commitment to aluminum for closure and structural applications, as well as greater use of castings," says J. Wilt Wagner, chairman of The Aluminum Association’s Auto Advisors Group and executive vice president of Reynolds Metals Co., Richmond, Va. "Aluminum automotive prospects are bright, but we have our work cut out for us because steel has been the preferred material of choice for cars since the turn of the century, and automotive engineers have more than 90 years of experience in using it."

Bougie, whose company has already spent $140 million on R&D efforts for aluminum vehicle technology, says that the use of aluminum in construction is mature, in packaging it is growing, and the auto market is the next frontier. "We are in the infancy of aluminum in autos," he says. "We are looking 40 to 50 years down the road. It is not going to be a total conversion overnight."

Heenan sees it much differently. "Affordability, safety, insurance costs, repairability – those are the factors that the consumer considers when purchasing a vehicle. And of those, affordability is the biggest one."