Month: May 2023

A new manufacturing process developed by supplier giant Magna International Inc. and the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory could soon make it possible to reduce aluminum parts suppliers’ reliance on new aluminum.

The process — Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion — allows a company to collect scrap and leftover aluminum trimmings and directly turn it into material suitable by automotive standards.

Typically, recycled aluminum used in auto parts is added to newly mined aluminum to ensure higher quality.

But reducing the need for new aluminum would help companies cut carbon emissions by as much as 90 percent compared with typical processes, according to Magna and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Staff Reporter John Irwin spoke with Aldo Van Gelder, 57, general manager of Magna’s corporate R&D center, about the collaboration. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: What spurred this partnership?

A: It’s tied to the increased consumption of aluminum and extrusions in vehicle structures. As that becomes more important, we’re looking at what type of processes and technologies are coming to market that we could use that could provide us a competitive advantage and garner more market share.

The expectation is the market for extrusions will double in the next 10 years. We’re moving with the market in that direction, with the way customers are designing those vehicles. It’s matching our process and footprint with the market and our customers.

What does this require from a capital perspective?

You can call it heavy manufacturing, so it’s capital intensive. If you look at casting or stamping or injection molding, all of these are capital intensive. Very few product areas that we operate in aren’t capital intensive. The fact that this can provide strategic advantages in terms of energy efficiency and lower cost is the primary reason we’re interested in this technology.

Automakers removed 27,240 vehicles from their global production schedules last week because of the unrelenting shortage of microchips, according to the latest estimate by AutoForecast Solutions.

Each region of the world made new factory cuts last week, with plants in Asia outside of China leading the way by trimming 11,672 vehicles. Meanwhile, companies axed 8,510 vehicles at North American assembly plants.

Since the beginning of this year, automakers have eliminated plans to build 1.2 million vehicles. About 16.2 million vehicles have been cut since AutoForecast Solutions began tracking the impact of the semiconductor shortage in 2021.

“The hope remains that these losses will be minor by 2024,” said Sam Fiorani, AutoForecast Solutions’ vice president of global vehicle forecasting, in an email.

McLaren’s new 750S coupe may not appear radically different from the 720S it replaces for 2024. But look closer at those wheels.

McLaren engineers wanted the 750S to be more powerful and faster, with a 0 to 60 mph time of under three seconds, and that meant the new model needed to be lighter.

The project eliminated more than 30 pounds from the wheels alone — with no compromise to structural integrity — by milling out parts of the nonload-bearing section of the 10-spoke forged alloy rims. The results are the lightest wheels ever fitted as standard equipment on a series production model McLaren.

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province is offering more money in a bid to keep automaker Stellantis from pulling out of building an electric-vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont.

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution announced last year that they were building the $5-billion plant, but have in recent days stopped construction and warned they were implementing contingency plans because the federal government hasn’t lived up to an agreement.

The CEOs of the two companies wrote last month to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying Ottawa had confirmed in writing five times that it would match production incentives under the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, but has not delivered on those commitments.

But the federal government has been pressuring Ontario to pitch in as well, saying the province also has to pay its “fair share.”

Ford has said he is disappointed with how the federal government has handled the issue since the province didn’t make those production subsidy commitments, but said he is working with officials in Ottawa.

“I will confirm we’re putting more money on the table,” he said after an unrelated announcement in St. Catharines, Ont.

“This is all about saving jobs and giving people the quality of life they deserve in southwestern Ontario.”

The premier wouldn’t say how much, in order to protect those jobs.

Construction at a portion of the NextStar Energy plant – a joint venture between the automaker and LG Energy Solution (LGES) –   was halted May 15 after the companies accused the federal government of not living up to promises to match incentives contained in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. The automaker also warned that it was making contingency plans – a sign that it was willing to move the project across the border.

The plant, expected to employ 2,500 people and slated to begin production next year, would be capable of producing 45 gigawatt-hours of lithium ion cells and modules annually to feed Stellantis plants in Canada and the U.S.

Construction on the module portion of the plant was stopped, but work continued elsewhere on site.

The automaker has been accusing Ottawa of reneging on a previously made promise, alleging the federal government had “not delivered on what was agreed.”

Stellantis’ frustration with the pace of federal government negotiations appeared to heat up after Canada signed a deal April 21 of this year with Volkswagen for a battery gigafactory in St. Thomas, Ont. The federal government has committed to provide up to C$13.2 billion ($9.8 billion USD) in manufacturing tax credits to VW through 2032, while Europe’s largest carmaker is investing up to C$7 billion to build the plant.

The incentives nearly match those in the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes an incentive of US $35 per kWh of cell production and a US $10 per kWh incentive for battery module production.

Cells and modules are two separate parts, both to be assembled at the Windsor site.

Volkswagen will receive no federal support for battery modules made in St. Thomas., according to Hans Parmar, a spokesperson for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

Meanwhile, the province put up C$500 million for both deals, Ford previously said, and is ensuring roads and energy for the plants.

Flavio Volpe, head of the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association praised the premier.

“Doug Ford stepping up in a crisis is on brand. And I wouldn’t expect the premier to make a statement if he wasn’t certain we solved this,” Volpe said. “We’re back on track. Hopefully we can pick up the momentum we started with this deal.

“All we’ve signaled to other investors is that details matter. We don’t have a standing tax credit, so you’re going to have to negotiate terms, and get it right the first time.”

The news pleased Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy, who represents hourly workers at the Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant, where minivans are currently made but will soon be swapped out for new electrified product.

“Like my father always told me, stick and stay and it’s bound pay. I expected this. I knew he’d [Ford] come through. He’s been very clear about it,” Cassidy told Automotive News Canada.  Cassidy said he has been in regular contact with the premier. 

“This is a great day, that we’ve just solidified this.”

Stellantis declined comment on the matter Friday.

With files from Automotive News Canada and the Canadian Press.