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Electric cars to boost demand for steel - Tata Steel UK Report-The 19th Guangzhou Die-casting, Foundry & Industry Furnace Exhibition
8/3/2017 Die-casting expo-foundry expo |
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Imeche.org reported that according to a new report from Tata Steel UK, the rise of electric vehicles will drive demand for steel, The report, Charging towards a sustainable future, claims that auto industry steel demand will grow by 4.2 million tonnes by 2050, driven by the uptake of zero emissions vehicles. Head of policy and representation at UK Steel Mr Richard Warren said an increase of 4.2 million tonnes was “in the right ball park”. He told Professional Engineering that existing projections estimate an increase in demand by about 1.5 million tonnes through to 2030 and so it should hit that level if it continues to follow a similar trajectory.
With ambitious emissions targets increasingly enshrined in law, automotive manufacturers have focussed on reducing weight to increase efficiency and bring down emissions, which is one of the reasons aluminium has been expected to become more used.
However, Chris Wooffindin, automotive marketing manager at Tata Steel told PE that the steel that is currently supplied for engines and body work would be replaced by lightweight advanced and electrical steels.
Tata Steel claim that aluminium and carbon fibre will not replace steel as has been predicted because they will remain prohibitively expensive, and they’re harder to recycle than steel, which can be melted down and re-used infinitely with no loss of quality.
Tata argue that a move towards zero emissions vehicles could free up car manufacturers to use steel again, and that consumers will begin to focus on the overall environmental impact of their car, not just the per-mile effect. “This assessment confirms some non-steel materials are significantly less attractive compared to steel," said Wooffindin. "We believe, and are seeing, that advanced steels are the answer; offering sustainable solutions which suit the automotive industry for both the immediate and long-term future.”
Others disagree. David Bailey, professor of industry at Aston University, told PE that the weight of vehicles will still be important. “Batteries are inherently heavy, and companies will look to get weight down in other ways through the use of aluminium and other composite materials,” he said.
However, he did predict an increase in demand for steel because of the infrastructure that will be required to support the electric vehicle revolution. “We are going to see across Europe for example battery plants that will need to be built, and there may even be new plants for building electric vehicles,” he said.
Beyond 2050, there are other considerations that could affect demand for steel from the auto industry. The first is driverless cars – many are predicting they will lead to a move away from owning your own vehicle towards ride-sharing, where you summon one like an Uber when you need to go on a journey.
This could lead to a fall in demand for new cars, but both Wooffindin and Bailey argue that because the cars will be running more often, they’ll need to be repaired and replaced more frequently. Bailey also suggests that demand for shared vehicles may actually increase as the price of journeys comes down.
In the more distant future, demand might drop for a different reason as driverless cars get better and human drivers disappear. Cars might not even need to be made of metal at all. “If it can no longer crash, it could be like a fabric tent on the upper body,” said transport pioneer Dan Sturges, although Tata argue that consumers will still want the peace of mind and protection provided by steel.
-The
19th Guangzhou Die-casting, Foundry & Industry Furnace Exhibition
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