In electric vehicles, on average 50 percent of all parts are made of aluminum.
The European automotive sector therefore increasingly needs reliable sources of aluminum that do not depend on critical foreign raw material imports.
SALEMA is a European Union-funded project designed to make new aluminum alloys to be used in the production of electric vehicles, which have been validated through five case studies based on significant automotive components.
The project began in 2021 and ends in April this year, and this event will present the designed and produced alloys and the innovative components that have been manufactured.
Organised by
The international exhibition for the aluminium supply chain, 5-7 March 2025 at Bolognafiere
In collaboration with
Context of reference
The automotive industry is facing multiple challenges in achieving the goals of the European Green Deal. New, high-performance but lightweight materials need to be produced and dependence on imported raw materials needs to be reduced, while creating a sustainable economy for the future. How to solve this conundrum? SALEMA partners see the solution in aluminium. This lightweight, inexpensive and fully recyclable metal can meet the highest technical requirements and is ready for mass production.
Aluminium is not a new solution in automobiles if we consider that on average, in cars produced on a large scale, 15 percent of all parts are made of aluminium, while in the case of electric vehicles this percentage exceeds 50 percent mainly because of its main characteristic i.e., light weight. Therefore, the European automotive sector needs reliable sources of aluminium that do not depend on critical raw material imports from abroad.
SALEMA, a European Union-funded project, has been designed to produce new aluminium alloys with a minimum content of critical raw materials (silicon and magnesium) or by integrating scrap metal recycling.
The integration of scrap metal recycling is crucial to creating a sustainable circular economy and will be a reliable source of high-quality alloys in the future.
SALEMA relied on the collaboration of 16 partners from six European countries that combined their strengths to make the electric vehicle industry greener, reducing the EU’s dependence on raw material imports.
The project began in 2021 and ends in April 2024, and its results will be presented at this event.
SALEMA demonstrated the potential of the newly studied alloys in electric vehicle manufacturing by creating five case-study car components: the shock tower, frontal frame, B-pillar, battery compartment, and body-in-white (inner hood).
Programme
Welcome greetings
Introduction and moderator
Prof. Franco Bonollo – University of Padua
Aluminium: a strategic resource for sustainable automotive
Francesca Cavezza, European Aluminium Association
Manufacturing automotive components with recycled aluminium alloys: it is possible!
Roundtable discussion with companies in the aluminium supply chain that participated in the European SALEMA Project.
Speakers: Ruggero Zambelli (Raffmetal), Claudio Mus (Endurance Overseas), Giovanni Sbrega e Roberto De Michele (Profilglass)
Aluminium in the perspective of the automotive manufacturer: a winning solution
Conclusions and results of the SALEMA project analysed from the automotive manufacturer’s point of view: by Jacopo Tatti, CRF – Fiat Group Stellantis Research Centre
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