Major milestone reached in automotive lightweighting research

Lightweighting experts from leading EU carmakers debating over the ALIVE vehicle demonstrator at the EUCAR Annual Conference. © Fred Guerdin ©

Lightweighting experts from leading EU carmakers debating over the ALIVE vehicle demonstrator – Brussels, Belgium, November 8, 2016, EUCAR Annual Conference. © Fred Guerdin ©

September 2016 marked a major milestone in automotive lightweighting research in Europe, with the completion of the 4-year R&D work of the EU-funded ALIVE and ENLIGHT projects (FP7 programme). At the same moment, in October, the new large-scale H2020 project “ALLIANCE” launched which will carry on the advancement of innovation in this field for the next 3 years.

Showcasing successful results

The ALIVE and ENLIGHT final demonstrators and results, together with the epsilon project, were presented at the Aachen Body Engineering Days (ABED), which took place on the 20-21st of September in the facilities of the ALIVE partner IKA, at the RWTH Aachen University. A workshop on the 22nd of September was dedicated to the 3 projects, which all form part of the “SEAM cluster”.

The results were welcomed with great interest by the community. The event, acknowledged as one of the references at EU level in the domain of lightweight materials and technologies applied to automotive, was attended by more than 100 attendees, including policymakers (European Commission Project Officer Mr. Maurizio Maggiore) and external industrial and research peers form the wider lightweight community. It featured presentations and vehicle demonstrators from OEMs such as Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Ford, Daimler and Porsche.

The demonstrators were also showcased at EUCAR Annual Reception and Conference in November 2016 in Brussels (photo).

The SEAM cluster

The SEAM Cluster consists of four partner projects (SafeEV, ENLIGHT, ALIVE, MATISSE) and two associated projects (epsilon, URBAN-EV) involving novel ideas in the automotive sector that attempt to push developments in electric and alternative vehicles and lightweight design further. The clustered projects bring together a network of almost 50 leading organisations and leverage more than €30 million of private and public R&D investment.

Apart from ALIVE and ENLIGHT, in 2015 MATISSE and SafeEV also delivered their final presentations of their results. The rest will deliver their results within 2017. The new project, ALLIANCE, is expected to carry on the legacy of the SEAM cluster and continue bringing closer together the European innovation ecosystem on automotive lightweighting.

 

Bax & Company not only supported the creation and securing of EC funding for these projects, but has also been a partner of the consortia, performing economic viability analysis (life cycle cost modelling) and dissemination, exploitation support activities. It also served as the co-joint SEAM cluster office, enhancing the synergies and coordination between the projects.

If you would like more information about these projects and our 20+ years work in the field, please contact our Automotive area team.

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