Scale-up and commercialization of an innovative forming technology for low-cost production of super-light automotive structural parts (SECA)

交通运输是英国最大的温室气体排放部门。它占2019年总排放量的27%。其中，大多数（91%）由公路车辆生产。车辆重量是造成大量排放的主要因素。2011年至2019年期间，英国新车的排放量仅下降了1%，原因是重型suv越来越受欢迎，后者平均比中型乘用车多消耗25%的能源。英国电动汽车（EV）市场的增长也面临着需要增加续驶里程的挑战，这与车辆重量密切相关。因此，为了在2050年前实现英国的净零排放目标，减轻汽车重量是英国汽车制造商现在关注的重点。使用轻质铝挤压型材是减轻车身重量的一种很有前途的解决方案。与钢结构相比，铝挤压密集型车身结构可以减轻30%的重量，提高54%的刚度（AEC, 2019）。在车辆的整个生命周期中，减轻的重量有助于减少5%的温室气体排放。然而，由于产品和装配成本高，铝挤压型材尚未完全用于乘用车。在车身结构中集成流线型铝挤压型材，可以减少零件数量和装配成本，同时提高型材尺寸精度和空气动力学性能。然而，流线型铝挤压型材仍然难以低成本地通过传统的挤压工艺生产。目前，流线型铝型材是由挤压型材的直线长度制成的，然后弯曲或切割和焊接。弯曲会使挤压截面变形，切割/焊接会降低合金的机械性能，因此这两种操作都会降低设计结构的刚度和承载能力。此外，多步骤操作增加了能源消耗，降低了生产率，增加了制造过程的成本。该项目联盟正在寻求英国创新基金，以开发英国发明的新型挤压技术（Flextrude），以实现在一次操作中制造轻质流线型铝挤压型材的经济实惠，从而消除昂贵的二次弯曲和连接过程。与竞争对手相比，Flextrude技术可将制造成本降低35%，交货时间缩短33%。该项目的成果将在项目完成后的5年内为我们的英国供应链创造至少115个技术工作岗位和超过7200万英镑的收入。

Transport is the largest greenhouse emitting sector in the UK. It accounted for 27% of total emissions in 2019\. Of this, the majority (91%) was produced by road vehicles. Vehicle weight is a main factor responsible for the large emissions. Emissions of new cars in the UK fell by only 1% between 2011 and 2019 due to the rising popularity of heavy weight SUVs which consume 25% more energy on average than medium-sized passenger cars. The growth of UK electric vehicle (EV) market also faces a challenge in the need to increase driving range, which is closely linked to vehicle weight. Thus, the impetus to save vehicle weight is now a key focus of the UK carmakers to meet the country's net zero target by 2050\.Use of lightweight aluminium extrusion profiles is a promising solution to reduce vehicle body weight. Aluminium extrusion-intensive body structures enable 30% weight loss and 54% stiffness enhancement compared with steel counterparts (AEC, 2019). The reduced weight contributes to 5% drop in greenhouse emissions throughout a vehicle's full life cycle. However, aluminium extrusion profiles have yet to be fully exploited for passenger vehicles due to high product and assembly costs.Integrating streamlined aluminium extrusion profiles in vehicle body structures makes it possible to reduce part numbers and assembly costs while improving profile dimensional precision and aerodynamic performance. However, streamlined aluminium extrusion profiles are still difficult to produce cheaply by conventional extrusion processes. Currently, streamlined aluminium extrusions are made from straight lengths of extruded profile which are then bent or cut and welded. Bending distorts the extruded cross-section and cutting/welding reduces the mechanical properties of an alloy, so both operations reduce stiffness and load bearing capacity of a designed structure. Additionally, the multi-step operation increases energy consumption, reduces productivity and adds cost to the manufacturing process.This project consortium is seeking Innovate UK funding to exploit a UK-invented novel extrusion technology (Flextrude) to enable affordable manufacture of lightweight streamlined aluminium extrusion profiles in one single operation, thus eliminating costly secondary bending and joining processes. The Flextrude technology reduces manufacturing cost by 35% and lead time by 33%, compared with competing processes. The outcome from this project will create at least 115 skilled jobs and over £72 million revenue for our UK supply chain in 5 years after the project.