The market size of new automotive materials may reach trillions

New energy, intelligence and light weight have become the recognized development directions of the future automotive industry. With the acceleration of industrial transformation and upgrading, new automotive materials have also become a focus of attention, and the future market size may reach trillions of yuan.
The new material is written into the medium and long-term planning of the industry
At the end of last month, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly issued the "Mid- and Long-Term Development Plan for the Automobile Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). In the "Planning", lightweight is confirmed as one of the important directions of future automobile development, and advanced vehicle materials have become an important part of it.
According to the "Planning", in the future, relying on the national science and technology plan, the automobile industry will be guided to strengthen cooperation with related industries such as raw materials, and collaboratively carry out research on the industrialization and batch application of high-strength steel, aluminum alloy high-vacuum die-casting, semi-solid and powder metallurgy forming parts, and speed up Magnesium alloy, rare earth magnesium (aluminum) alloy application, expand the application scope of high-performance engineering plastic parts and composite materials. Encourage industry enterprises to strengthen the manufacturing technology research of key components such as high-strength and lightweight body, key assemblies and their precision components, motors and electric drive systems, and carry out the integration of advanced manufacturing equipment such as vehicle technology, key assemblies and components Innovation and engineering applications.
According to reports, the weight reduction of automobiles is mainly reflected in the optimized design of automobiles, the application of alloy materials and non-metallic materials, which are in turn 10% to 15%, 30% to 40%, and 45% to 55% of the weight of automobiles.
Yu Kai, Secretary of the Party Committee of China Automotive Technology and Research Center, said at the "2017 International Forum on Automotive Materials" held recently that my country's automotive industry is entering a period of strategic opportunity for transformation and upgrading, from big to strong, and the new generation of information technology, new energy, new Materials and other technologies have accelerated the integration with the automotive industry, the industrial ecology is undergoing profound changes, and the competitive landscape is being reshaped in an all-round way. Whether China's auto industry can actively innovate, seize the opportunity and seize the opportunity is of great importance. The "Planning" clearly states that promoting the integration of technology and capital in related industries such as vehicles and materials not only points out the direction for the development of China's automobile industry, but also sets requirements for the development of automotive materials.
Yu Kai introduced that, as the foundation of the automotive industry, automotive materials are closely related to the safety, environmental protection, energy saving and green performance of automobiles. The advanced automotive industries in Europe, the United States and Japan have in-depth research and strict requirements on automotive materials. . my country's research in the field of automotive materials started late, the foundation is relatively weak, and the industrial chain cooperation is not yet close. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out extensive cross-industry and cross-professional in-depth cooperation between automobile manufacturers, material parts enterprises and research institutions with advanced technology research and development capabilities, vigorously develop new materials and new technologies, implement a material approval system, and provide automotive products. Development, design and technological innovation provide a steady stream of power.
Lightweight vehicles are of great significance
As one of the main ways to save energy and reduce emissions in automobiles, lightweight has always been the technological direction of the automobile industry. Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor, once said that any excess weight is fatal to a car. At present, with the development of new energy vehicles, lightweight is the top priority.
Zhao Pizhi, deputy chief engineer of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the lightweight of new energy vehicles has many advantages. First, it can increase the cruising distance and reduce costs. A weight loss of 100 kg can increase the cruising distance by about 10%. At the same time, because the body is lighter, the weight of the battery can be reduced, thereby reducing the cost. In addition, weight reduction can shorten the braking distance and improve safety performance. If the hood is made of aluminum alloy, it can also help protect pedestrians.
According to the "Technical Roadmap for Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicles" previously released by the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, the future will be mainly divided into three stages to achieve year-by-year weight reduction of automobiles. The first stage is from 2016 to 2020, achieving a weight reduction of 10% compared with 2015; focusing on the development of ultra-high-strength steel and advanced high-strength steel technology, and realizing that the application ratio of high-strength steel in automobiles reaches more than 50%. The second stage is from 2021 to 2025. The weight of the whole vehicle is reduced by 20% compared with 2015. The body adopts various mixed materials such as steel and aluminum, and the application ratio of magnesium alloy and carbon fiber parts is increased. The amount of aluminum used in a bicycle reaches 350kg. The third stage is from 2026 to 2030, achieving a weight reduction of 35% compared with 2015, focusing on the development of magnesium alloy and carbon fiber composite materials technology, and realizing the large-scale application of carbon fiber composite material hybrid body and carbon fiber parts, magnesium alloy for bicycles It reaches 45kg, and the use of carbon fiber accounts for 5% of the weight of the car.
At the same time, vehicle lightweighting is also directly related to energy conservation and emission reduction. According to the "Planning", by 2020, the average fuel consumption of car companies must be reduced to 5 liters per 100 kilometers. According to statistical estimates, if the vehicle weight is reduced by 10%, the fuel efficiency can be increased by 6% to 8%, and if the fuel consumption can be reduced to 0.3 to 0.6 liters per 100 kilometers, the carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 5 to 8 grams.
In this regard, Yu Kai said that the lightweight of automobiles has risen to the national strategic level. Not only does "Made in China 2025" list lightweighting as the core technology for the development of energy-saving and new energy vehicles, but also in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology and other national ministries and commissions have successively In the special plan released, specific requirements for the development of lightweight technology have also been put forward many times. The achievement of the lightweight goal of automobiles is inseparable from the application of lightweight materials such as high-strength steel, magnesium alloys, high-performance plastics and carbon fiber composite materials. The innovation and development of material technology has become an important way to promote the technological revolution of vehicle lightweighting. .
Accelerate the promotion of green manufacturing
Some institutions predict that with the help of the transformation and upgrading of the automotive industry, the market size of the automotive new material industry is expected to reach several trillion yuan. However, industry insiders believe that there is still a gap between my country and developed countries in terms of lightweight and new automotive materials. This is mainly manifested in: there is a big gap between the variety, quantity and performance of materials in my country and foreign countries; the domestic automobile industry, especially the joint venture brand, has its own supplier system, and it is very difficult for domestic material enterprises to enter, resulting in the development of domestic material enterprises. It lags behind the automobile industry; it is difficult to control the cost of materials and processing. Due to the low processing efficiency of composite materials such as carbon fiber, the cost of auto parts and OEMs increases; my country does not have complete new material technology and product standards. fusion is not enough.
In this regard, Gao Yunhu, director of the Department of Energy Conservation of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the construction of a green manufacturing system for the automobile industry will be accelerated. It is necessary to do a good job in the subtraction of energy saving, emission reduction, cost reduction and consumption reduction, as well as the addition of quality and efficiency improvement. In the context of China's economy entering a new normal, it is necessary to actively cultivate new kinetic energy for green development. As a pillar industry of my country's national economy, the automobile industry has a long industrial chain, a large degree of correlation, and a wide range of radiation. It is of great practical significance and far-reaching historical significance to accelerate the promotion of green manufacturing in the automobile industry and achieve green growth.
It is understood that the "Planning" clearly puts forward the goals and main tasks of promoting the green development of the automobile industry, and also puts forward clear requirements for the fuel consumption of automobiles per 100 kilometers, the recycling rate of automobiles, and the green management of the whole life cycle. According to industry analysis, to strengthen the green management of the whole life cycle of the automobile industry is to vigorously improve the fuel efficiency of automobiles, greatly reduce emissions and energy consumption, and at the same time, focus on promoting the green design and green supply chain of automobiles, and then build a green manufacturing system for the automobile industry. .
Gao Yunhu said that in the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will further promote green design demonstrations and green design product evaluation pilots. In the industries of automobiles, electronic appliances, machinery, large-scale complete sets of equipment, etc., select a group of leading enterprises with strong representation, great industry influence, strong production and operation strength, and high management level, supported by green supply chain standards and extended production responsibility system , to carry out pilot demonstrations of green supply chains. At the same time, strengthen supervision and management, strengthen cooperation with relevant departments, strengthen supervision during and after the event, and gradually establish a market supervision mechanism for green design products.