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Steel concept developing to increase auto efficiency at lower cost

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It is reported that global steel industry is developing lighter, stronger, greener steel bodies to help automakers increase efficiency at lower cost. Summary:

Phase 1 technology and component evaluations complete; four technical specification options were considered: Future Steel Vehicle-1 (battery electric vehicle and plug in hybrid electric vehicle) and FSV-2 (plug in hybrid electric vehicle and fuel cell electric vehicle) Phase 2 vehicle concepts, to be completed in 2010, will provide optimized steel designs that meet or exceed future environmental, fuel economy, safety and weight standards

As worldwide demands for affordable, safe and high-efficiency vehicles surge, the global steel industry's WorldAutoSteel automotive group, supported by AISI's Steel Market Development Institute, is launching Phase 2 of its FSV aimed at helping automakers optimize new propulsion technologies that will soon enter show rooms. The FSV program recently completed Phase 1 of its research and today released its findings and plans for Phase 2.

For Phase 1, FSV's technical team, which includes EDAG, Quantum Technologies, SFCV per tonne and WorldAutoSteel material experts, considered four technical specification options for proposed 2015 to 2020 model year vehicles: battery electric and plug in hybrid electric vehicles for four or more passengers and PHEV and fuel cell vehicles for five passengers. Each of these options was evaluated by the engineering team and power trains were selected based on performance, viability for production in 2020 and cost. Two vehicle classes were identified.

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