Car makers are looking for solutions to reduce embodied emissions
Multiple car makers have made public commitments to net zero: not just tailpipe emissions but also manufacturing (embodied) emissions too. Sheet metal purchased to make the vehicle structure makes up almost a quarter of embodied emissions.
Yet at present, carmakers scrap almost half the sheet metal purchased
Whether high or low volume, scrap rates on body components are stubbornly high overall, causing as much as 70 Mt of CO2 emissions annually.
A typical formed panel before trimming
Current tool designs use large run-off surfaces and blankholder areas to control wrinkling and springback. The scrap is trimmed off and sent for re-melting at high cost