Aluminium – a potential game-changer for the auto industry

Aluminium could provide a win-win strategy for a revival of the automotive industry, opines K R Raghunath, Vice Chairman, Jindal Aluminium Limited

K R Raghunath, Vice Chairman, Jindal Aluminium Limited

As of now, strategists, think tanks, eyes and minds of the automotive industry are focussed on two questions: How deep will be the impact of the current impasse due to the national lockdown in the wake of the virus pandemic on the industry and what are the strategies that should be implemented to offset the negatives? In recent times, the automobile industry has been wading through multiple challenges, including an economic slowdown, BS IV-related delays and now the lockdown. Amidst all the gloom, the industry could count on the opportunity of electric vehicles as an emerging and new norm amongst the positive straws it could clutch at.

It is a fact that electric vehicles would largely rely on lowering the mass weight of the vehicles, which means use of lighter metals. This is where aluminium could step in and with a bit of innovation and joint engineering both the sectors could see a win-win strategy to focus on the EV segment. Aluminium is a universally versatile metal and is therefore widely used across various sectors. This is on account of the metal being sustainable in nature and light in weight, not to forget its energy-efficient qualities. Aluminium will forever be thought of as the metal that made flying possible.

Aluminium not only enhances energy efficiency and reduction of carbon emissions; it is further known to condense vehicular weight and help accelerate vehicles. Light, sturdy and malleable with matchless strength-to-weight ratio, it has proven to be the go-to material for the aviation and automobile industry. The automobile industry has used aluminium for over a century with the first sports car premiered at the Berlin International Motor Show in 1899 featuring an aluminium body. Currently, aluminium is the second most used material in the automotive industry next to steel. In the manufacturing process, 2 kg of steel or cast iron can be replaced with 1 kg aluminium.

The automobile industry uses aluminium in the manufacturing of vehicles for the vehicle’s frame and body, electrical wiring, wheels, ABS brakes, transmission, air-conditioner condenser and pipes, magnets for speedometers, tachometers and airbags as well as engine parts like pistons, radiator and cylinder head. The usage of aluminium instead of steel provides several benefits like performance, safety, environmental compliance, fuel efficiency and durability. The aluminium sector is going through an exciting time with consumption soaring for this highly versatile metal. This rise in consumption and demand can be attributed to electric vehicles.

It has been rightly observed by many that the rise of the electric vehicle will likely be a boon for the aluminium sector. With the government aiming to make India a hub of electric vehicles, it has announced a series of measures to this end, including a USD 1.4 billion worth manufacturing hub. This constant push from the government is estimated to make India the fourth-largest market for EVs by 2040. If we estimate the increase in manufacturing and sale of EVs in 2030, for every 10 lakh vehicles sold, the aluminium demand will be 2.5 lakh tons, considering an  average aluminium content of 250 kg per electric vehicle.

As such, the demand for aluminium will surely skyrocket just with the manufacturing and sale of EVs. There will be many other spin-offs. With the adoption of this development, there will be a considerable increase in demand for aluminium on account of infrastructure for serving EVs, since the metal is commonly used as housing material for EV charging stations and other related facilities. Furthermore, EV battery enclosures are another opportunity that offers large potential upside for the usage of aluminium extrusions, which is set to increase to 80 kg on an average. With this, aluminium’s cumulative demand is set to rise by approximately several hundred thousand tons by 2030.