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The Future of Automotive Technology

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Technology is changing so much in our daily lives, including in how we get around. The electrification of vehicles, autonomous vehicles and connected systems within cities are no longer far off dreams, these technologies and a more connected automotive ecosystem are more of a reality in Australia than ever before. In the early 2000s, electronics accounted for less than 20% of the total cost of a vehicle. In 2020 it was up to 40% and we expect electronics to account for about half of the price of a new car by 2030. We are also expecting to see 300 million electric vehicles (EVs) on global roads by 2030. So, how do we ensure we are ready? How do private companies, cities and the people building the infrastructure to support this transformation come together to make this a reality? This blog will look to answer some of these questions.

Vehicles of the Future

There are many ways technology has improved how we get around, the efficiency in which we do so and the safety of our cars. These are exciting advancements and they are changing and improving transportation globally in the following ways: –

  • Eliminating the need for a human driver – To maintain a competitive edge, many companies are looking toward driverless vehicles to cut costs and increase efficiency. With autonomous capabilities, we will see material transport and rideshare services operating with nobody in the driver’s seat.
  • Battery Optimization – Similar to how AI learns your phone use, patterns and behaviours and charges your phone accordingly to best utilize your battery and increase its longevity, this is expected to be possible with car batteries in the future. Electric vehicles are creating new opportunities and batteries are expensive, and an important factor that dictates the lifespan of a car, and these advancements will help keep EVs on the road for longer.
  • Predictive maintenance – This is the ability to estimate, or predict, when maintenance should be performed on a vehicle. There are already sensors within cars and trucks, and it can be expected to leverage pipe fabrication while monitoring the different parts of a vehicle – like the engine, brakes, and any other moving component. If problems can be detected early and repairs can be made, this avoids costlier, and often time-consuming, catastrophic failures down the line.
  • IoT and Cars – With the rise of automation and intelligent integration, IoT is poised to make a significant impact in the automobile industry. When you bring your car to a mechanic, they will be able to connect to it via their phone, getting a full rundown of what is going on before ever opening the hood of the car. They can start diagnosing problems faster and more efficiently.

Fully Connected Automotive Ecosystem

The ability for vehicles to connect not just with each other, but also with mobile devices and smart ecosystems (smart cities, smart infrastructure, etc.) is an exciting prospect. Rather than rely solely on machine vision systems to perceive what is around them, key objects within communication range can provide feedback to reduce computational burden and increase confidence in what the vehicle “sees”. These objects could include smartphones to identify pedestrians, traffic lights to manage traffic flow at intersections, and road signs to enforce traffic laws. Furthermore, smart infrastructure has the potential to streamline how autonomous vehicles navigate from point A to point B. Beacons staggered along roads and streets can broadcast location data for vehicles to utilize when GPS signals are weak or lost entirely (e.g., when driving through tunnels or amongst tall buildings). Smart parking meters can charge vehicle owners directly, based precisely on how long the space was occupied. Streetlights can increase their brightness as vehicles approach them to increase visibility and decrease their brightness the remainder of the time, to conserve energy. The possibilities are truly endless.

Conclusion

It can be observed that there is immense potential for automotive technology to develop going forward. With the rise of EVs and a fast-growing automotive ecosystem as tailwinds, automotive technology led by heavy steel fabrication companies looks poised to take great strides. It is time to embrace this technology globally – especially in countries where battery vehicles are already prevalent in large numbers.

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Concept Metals Invests USD 15.5 Million to Diversify into EV space

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A West Michigan metal fabricator is making significant investments to bolster its presence in the electric vehicle battery production sector. Concept Metals Group invested $15.5 million in a facility purchased two years ago as well as state-of-the-art production equipment for its three existing plants in Spring Lake and Comstock Park. The company also added 25 employees over the past year to meet the growing demands of EV battery production, especially in the wake of foreign steel being approved for American EV charging stations. The company grew its footprint roughly two years ago when it purchased a former office furniture plant at 17237 Van Wagoner Road in Spring Lake. The 120,000-square-foot facility underwent extensive renovations to now accommodate 22 roll form lines, 51 presses and a new five-axis laser. Roll forming is the process of forming metal from sheet, strip, or coil stock into a desired cross-section shape.

Company leaders say the new capabilities create strong growth potential, as production for EV battery trays requires the use of roll form technology, unlike other types of automotive components. “Electric vehicles will provide new opportunities for fabricators, and we have taken steps to diversify and enhance our capabilities,” Bill Beland, vice president of engineering at Concept Metals Group, said in a news release. “This expansion has allowed us to develop new skill sets and expand the types of products we make. We now have capacity to establish new partnerships and provide additional manufacturing support for West Michigan companies.” Concept Metals Group’s move into the EV battery production space started around two years ago through a partnership with an undisclosed automotive manufacturing company. Company leadership soon recognized the need for more capacity. “We quickly realized that the scope of the project was so large that we needed a new facility in order to really kick it off and grow,” Kevin Mesler, vice president and general manager of Concept Metals Group, told the Business Journal. “We moved the new production line into the facility and had been working very closely with our customer to get to a launch position for the EV market.”

Concept Metals Group now builds components for EV battery trays for a host of GM vehicles, including the Hummer, Silverado, Escalade, Suburban and Tahoe. The $15.5 million investment coincided with adding 25 employees at the new facility, including a recently added third shift for structural steel fabrication. Mesler said the company has been “very fortunate” to find qualified employees from various industries to help support the growing EV-related venture. “We’re well staffed and well trained at this point in order to take on the new capabilities that we had to undergo in order to support this new technology,” Mesler said. Mesler also said Concept Metals Group sales for all three of its affiliates — Concept Metal Products, Concept Metal Fabrication and Concept Metal Machining — are expected to grow a by a combined 100 percent in 2023, with forecasts to double again in 2024. He said it’s been exciting for the heavy steel fabrication company to join in the increasing number of projects and initiatives state-wide that are contributing to Michigan’s EV production potential. “We’re very happy and very excited about where EV is going to take us … and I think we’re all being pushed that way,” Mesler said. “The federal government is very focused on the EV market, and it is one of those ‘you better get on while you can get on’ situations. I think this is an opportunity for all of us.”

Electric car charging station for charge EV battery. Plug for ve

Foreign steel Approved for American EV Charging Stations

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Metal fabricators supplying components for electric vehicle (EV) battery charging stations will have broad leeway to use steel from foreign suppliers.

That is the decision made by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in announcing “Buy America” exclusions for EV chargers funded over the next five years through the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. This effectively gives the green light for $5 billion set aside for the EV chargers. NEVI was authorized by the $550 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021.

The IIJA had significant domestic content requirements that FHWA has interpreted liberally because of its concerns regarding the ability of states and industry to effectively certify compliance with domestic content requirements. The Steel Manufacturers Association, which represents U.S. steelmakers that rely on electric arc furnaces and scrap metal to make metal, called this “false logic” and argued: “In fact, mill test certificates for steel inputs are routinely provided to both distributors and fabricators so that complete traceability is maintained throughout the distribution chain.” Form Energy has recently stated its plan to build a battery manufacturing plant in West Virginia.

FHWA said that as of 2021, only ChargePoint, FreeWire Technologies Inc. (FreeWire), and Rhombus were U.S. companies that believed they had existing direct-current fast-charging systems that could comply with the IIJA’s Buy America requirement. “FHWA remains uncertain regarding their immediate ability to meet demand on all FHWA projects for EV chargers that satisfy FHWA’s Buy America requirement within the next 12 months,” the agency said in a statement. That view was seconded by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). “It is in the public interest that EV infrastructure deployment not be delayed unnecessarily while industry makes good-faith efforts to integrate the new Buy America requirements into their sourcing and manufacturing processes,” AASHTO officials said in their own statement.

The new FHWA rule implements a two-phase EV-charger-specific Buy America waiver. From March 23 through June 30, 2024, domestic content requirements are waived for all EV chargers where final assembly takes place in the U.S. Starting on July 1, 2024, domestic content requirements are waived for all EV chargers where final assembly takes place in the U.S. and where the cost of components manufactured in the U.S. exceeds 55% of the total cost of all components. The waiver remains in place until terminated, but it is required to be revisited after five years. U.S. steel and steel-using fabrication companies and manufacturers opposed several aspects in the proposed exclusion when it was initially proposed a year ago.

But the FHWA, in the final waiver issued in February, appears to have satisfied just a few of its objections. One change is that the final waiver excludes such things as associated payment systems, distribution systems, telecommunications and networking equipment, energy storage systems, and other supporting equipment and systems. They had initially been included. The final waiver also excludes EV charger housing components that are predominantly steel and iron. The final waiver also gave heartburn to aluminium extruders represented by the Aluminium Extruders Council, which argued aluminium extrusions, which are commonly used in EV charging station manufacturing, are readily available from U.S. manufacturers. Extrusions are used for various structural components like heat sinks, support feet, hinges, and doors. Some EV charging station producers also use aluminium for the outer shell of the charging station itself.

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Form Energy to Build Battery Plant in West Virginia

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Form Energy Inc, a start-up hoping to make long-duration storage batteries from materials including iron to store power from renewable energy, will partner with West Virginia to build a manufacturing plant in the state, the company and politicians said on Thursday. The plant is slated to be built starting next year in Weirton, once a top steel making town. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and Form Energy, backed by supporters including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, said the plant will be built with a total investment of up to $760 million. They said the factory will begin making battery systems in 2024 and to create at least 750 jobs in the state, which has suffered for years from a lack of high paying jobs as coal production falters amid the transition towards renewable energy and products such as battery electric vehicles.

“Weirton is long overdue for some incredible news,” Governor Jim Justice said. “At one point, Weirton was one of America’s most important steel towns— a national leader in steel fabrication and production. Now, this historic city is looking toward the future, and it’s very bright with Form Energy opening its doors. We structured a unique financial incentive package worth up to $290 million in asset-based, performance financing to support their decision to locate in Weirton. The funds put toward this project are guaranteed, secured, and collateralized through ownership of all land and buildings by the state”.

Form Energy aims to build batteries using iron, air and water. It said the batteries will be charged by a process of “reversible rusting” where batteries will be charged by rusting iron pellets and reversing that process to turn them back to iron. When discharging, the battery breathes in oxygen from the air and converts pellets of iron to rust, the company said. While charging, the application of an electrical current converts the rust back to iron and the battery breathes out oxygen, it said. Form says the batteries can store power for days, much longer than ones based on lithium-ion, and using less expensive materials. The private company has not publicly released data showing how the batteries will store power on a commercial basis. Form Energy intends its batteries to store electricity from solar and wind power that only operate intermittently, when the sun shines and wind blows. This is in line with the move towards cleaner energy such as the new UK strategy which leverages different energy sources.

Company co-founder and chief executive Mateo Jaramillo said Weirton was chosen from among 500 locations across 16 states. Jaramillo said that Weirton “is the ideal location for our first commercial battery production factory”  and it has “the rich heritage and know-how to make great things out of iron.” In October, Form said it had raised about $452 million from backers including pipe fabrication company ArcelorMittal SA. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a conservative Democrat and founder and partial owner of private coal brokerage Enersystems, who has been reluctant to rein in fossil fuels, praised the project. “The path forward is innovation, not elimination, and with this announcement West Virginia and Form Energy are doing just that,” Manchin said in a statement.

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Battery Electric Vehicles and New Opportunities for Fabricators

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Elon Musk, and by association Tesla, are well-known across the world. But do you know what is the major product developed by Tesla which has made Musk one of the richest people in the world? It’s batteries for energy vehicles (EVs), the demand for which is expected to increase exponentially as awareness about climate and ESG risks enable governments and people to move towards a clean-air future. This industry is also offering new and exciting opportunities for heavy steel fabrication companies and stamping manufacturers to produce quality, lightweight components. As battery electric vehicles (BEVs) gain market share, manufacturers will need to address issues with mineral supply chains and vehicle curb weight.

Considerations with regard to BEVs

BEVs

  • Adequate Range – As BEVs migrate from novel vehicles to niche vehicles, the industry needs to ensure the BEVs have adequate range, especially since BEV charging infrastructure is in its infancy. Currently, BEV manufacturers are using lightweight materials, but the batteries are heavy.
  • Battery Capacity – Production improvements over the past 10 years have led to a dramatic reduction in the cost per kilowatt-hour for lithium-ion batteries. This enables manufacturers to add greater battery capacity without negatively influencing vehicle costs.
  • Bloated weight – Adding battery capacity can’t fully compensate for bloated weight. Battery researchers agree that future improvements in battery technologies will lead to marginal cost improvements. To achieve acceptable range, manufacturers need to work on reducing the curb weight of current BEVs by leveraging fabrication types such as pipe fabrication. For instance, GM’s Hummer three-motor version has an estimated curb weight of 10,000 to 14,000 lbs. Its 200-kwH battery capacity is twice that of Tesla’s, but with lesser range. Reducing curb weight to gain acceptable range will need to be an aggressive effort by OEMs, especially given the weight of batteries, safety equipment, and consumer demand for entertainment and comfort amenities.
  • Minerals cost – As BEV sales become a more significant market segment, costs of essential minerals will increase both because of supply and demand and because increased demand will further expose issues in the mineral supply chain.
Demand drivers for light-weight components

Lithium mining

The issues that will drive a push for even lighter weight components include the following: –

  1. Lithium mining environmental impact – Steel fabrication has many applications in mining and lithium mining uses tremendous amounts of water—an estimated 500,000 gallons per ton of lithium. In Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, where half the world’s lithium reserves are estimated to be located, the water usage is negatively affecting the nearby agricultural industry. Also, poisons leach off from the evaporation ponds and are known to kill downstream fish populations.
  2. Human rights issues in cobalt and element extraction – Cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is known for abusive labor practices and child labor.
  3. Political relationships – Energy is a strong economic and political motivator. As minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel become major drivers in transportation energy, unstable political relationships will have an effect. China is dominant in both global mineral extraction and lithium-ion battery production. The U.S. political relationship with an increasingly aggressive Chinese government may lead to market instability.
  4. Vulnerable supply chains – As energy supply chains change in their basic character, the structural steel fabrication industry must act to ensure that supply and transportation are robust enough to support a growing market.
Final Remarks

Firms pertaining to stamping and supply of sheet metal components have been presented with an opportunity to address BEV range by replacing with lightweight components. Companies need to start thinking beyond the design of traditional gasoline-run vehicles and look to make BEVs light and fast by making full use of sheet metal fabrication techniques and products. As discussed above, there are many considerations and issues in this regard, however BEV companies need to strike the iron when it’s hot!

© K999 Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. 2023