DUSSELDORF, Germany–Aluminum’s ability to offer automotive manufacturers’ lightweight design
solutions that increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions while
contributing to performance, was the central theme of a presentation
given by Dr.-Ing. Dietrich Wieser. Alcoa’s Director Business Development
Ground Transportation Europe spoke at the European Aluminium Congress in
Dusseldorf, Germany taking place November 23 and 24.

Aluminum plays an important role in reducing CO2 emissions in
transportation. “Aluminum not only offers significant advantages during
the use stage of an automobile, but in particular, also in the
end-of-life stage,” notes Wieser. “The infinite recyclability of
aluminum, together with its high scrap value and the low energy needs
during recycling make aluminum lightweight solutions in automotive
applications highly desirable.”

The international conference is an initiative of the German National
Aluminium Association ‘GDA’, and was attended by more than 180
participants.

Dr. Wieser outlined the many benefits aluminum brings to numerous
automotive applications. “Today many cars contain significant amounts of
aluminum, as designers have increasingly become aware of the metal’s
demonstrated advantages,” says Wieser. “While aluminum has historically
been employed in automobiles primarily in the form of castings (e.g. for
engine blocks and transmission housings), in recent years engineers are
making good use of the wide variety of aluminum products for automotive
applications.”

Light weighting transportation products through the use of aluminum
provides a direct contribution to CO2 savings. Not only when
using passenger cars, but also for trucks and busses. According to Dr.
Wieser, “one kilogram of aluminum in average saves 20 kg of CO2
for passenger cars; 28 kg of CO2 for articulated trucks; and
45 kg of CO2 for city busses, during the full life cycle of
the vehicle.” According to a recently published Ducker report, the
average aluminum content of a European passenger car in 2009 amounts to
124 kilograms.

According to Wieser, “Light-weighting is a key measure to improve the
sustainability of transportation. Aluminum with its wide range of
product forms offers technically and economically convincing solutions
and is an excellent material to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across a
vehicle’s lifetime. In short: Aluminum is part of the solution to reduce
CO2 emissions in transportation and so helping to improve the
sustainability of the transport industry.”

Learn more

Click here to learn more about Alcoa’s light weighting Automotive and
Commercial Transportation solutions:

• http://www.alcoa.com/car_truck/en/home_flash/home.asp
• http://www.alcoa.com/com_transport/en/home.asp

Click here to view information on the use of aluminum in Automotive and
Commercial Transportation at the European Aluminium Association and the
U.S. Aluminum Association websites:

• http://www.eaa.net/en/applications/automotive/
• http://www.eaa.net/en/applications/transport/
• http://www.autoaluminum.org/

About Alcoa

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) is the world leader in the production and management of
primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina combined, through its
active and growing participation in all major aspects of the industry.
Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and
construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing
design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa’s
businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components
including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings,
Alcoa also markets Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and
investment castings, and building systems. The Company has been named
one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and has been a member of the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index for eight consecutive years. Alcoa employs
approximately 63,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More
information can be found at www.alcoa.com.