Constellium will head a project joining a group of auto manufacturers and suppliers for the structural design of new aluminium battery enclosures for electric vehicles.
The aluminium intensive vehicle enclosures (ALIVE) project, valued at £15mn ($18.5mn) will be completed in the UK and partly furnished by a grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) as part of a research program focused on cutting carbon emissions, the company noted in a media statement.
Constellium will create and produce the aluminium extrusions for this undertaking at its University Technology Center at Brunel University in London. The endeavor is set to commence in July and its first prototypes are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2021.
The engineering structure for the new battery enclosures will be devised so that it can adjust to fluctuating production volumes, which offers a range of capabilities as volumes rise, the aluminum maker indicated. The company produces HSA6 extrusion alloys that are 20pc lighter than traditional alloys and are closed loop recyclable, therefore minimizes loss in quality during the recycling process.
Paul Warton, president of Constellium’s automotive structures & industry business unit, expressed the company’s appreciation in joining with the APC, automakers and suppliers for the innovative project design.
A new application center for Constellium and its associates will be formed in the UK to deliver full scale prototypes to automakers and to improve fabrication systems to further production, the company said.
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