Atlanta’s rolled and recycled aluminium firm Novelis Inc. announced yesterday the launch of a new aluminium alloy designed specifically for automotive body sheet.
The new alloy, christened Advanz 6HS-s650, is a 6xxx-series aluminium alloy that Novelis says surpasses the automotive industry’s standards for strength, lightweighting, formability, performance, and structural integrity. With a reported in-service strength advantage of between 15 percent and 25 percent beyond existing high-strength aluminium alloys, Advanz 6HS-s650 boasts superior crash behavior and resistance to corrosion. Novelis says the new alloy is suitable for use in various areas around modern vehicles that require high in-service strength, including A and B pillars, floors, tunnels, rockers, side impact door beams, bumper beams, roof rail inserts, and underbody frames.
In addition, Advanz 6HS-s650 offers a more economical and sustainable solution for automakers. The new alloy allows for more affordable and less complex use in manufacturing by eliminating the need for post-form heat treatment. The alloy is also capable of being recycled into new, high-strength aluminium products in Novelis’ closed-loop recycling process, thereby maximizing product value, reducing CO2 emissions, and establishing a secure supply chain.
Pierre Labat, Vice President Automotive, Novelis Inc., elaborated upon the reasoning behind the new alloy’s development in a related press release.
“Automakers demand the highest-strength solutions for substantial lightweighting, and s650 meets that requirement in a very efficient way. By providing a product that is stronger than existing aluminum alloys without sacrificing formability, automotive designers and engineers will have even more flexibility to lightweight the cars, trucks and SUVs of the future.”
The firm has lately commercialized Advanz 6HS-s650 as part of its electric vehicle battery enclosure system and as a structural component for a certain electric vehicle platform.
Novelis is a subsidiary of Mumbai’s Hindalco Industries Ltd. Based in Atlanta, the firm accounts for almost half of Hindalco’s consolidated revenue. The world’s largest recycler of aluminium, Novelis conducts operations in ten different countries, employs around eleven thousand people, and reported US$10 billion in revenue for the most recent fiscal year.