Future Steel Vehicle Program for Automotive Manufacturers to Use AHSS

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the US and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have recently set out stricter rules and regulations regarding fuel and emissions for the period from 2017 to 2025.

The new rules focus on analysing the entire life of a vehicle and also take into consideration the total environmental costs involved in production and recycling when the vehicle reaches its end. To satisfy these rules, automotive manufacturers are now resorting to the use of Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS) which is a lightweight material. This was established in a study carried out by Ducker Worldwide for the Steel Market Development Institute. According to the study, every vehicle consisted of nearly 175 lbs of AHSS at present and this figure is expected to double by the year 2020. When the 54.5 mpg rule comes to place this figure is likely to further increase to 500 lbs for every vehicle.

The Future Steel Vehicle (FSV) program has identified over 20 new AHSS grades that can be used on a commercial basis by the year 2015-2020. Of these AHSS, 47% are GigaPascal steels, which have strength of more than 1,000 MegaPascals. According to the President and CEO of American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Thomas.J.Gibson, the new lightweight range of steels offer high safety levels and are affordable. He also expressed satisfaction with EPA with regard to the agency’s efforts to investigate the life cycle of a vehicle from its development to its recycling. AISI is an institution which focuses on the development and usage of new steels and new steel based technologies. It is made of 25 companies and 120 associates and affiliate members.