SALEMA - Substitution of critical raw materials in aluminium alloys for electric vehicles

Aluminum, a strategic material for the automotive industry, offers high performance and enables vehicle lightening and recyclability while being technically viable and economically affordable on a large scale. However, high-performance Al grades use a wide range of alloying elements, including some considered as Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) for which the EU faces a supply risk. SALEMA is developing high-performance aluminum alloys that protect the automotive sector and the aluminum processing industry from dependence on MPCs with the following two strategies: 1) develop Al grades with a large amount of recycled material, i.e. recover MPCs already embedded in metal scrap available in the EU as a substitute for the import of pure refined elements, and, 2) demonstrate the possibility of replacing MPCs in Al alloys with iron, a non-critical metal produced in Europe. These new SALEMA materials are being tested with the processes most commonly used in the automotive industry (sheet metal, castings and extrusions), notably through four pilot actions: high-pressure die-casting (HPDC), cold and hot sheet metal stamping and extrusion."