Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR), a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI) has named the winners of the 2023 Altair Enlighten Award. Presented in association with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), the Altair Enlighten Award honors the greatest sustainability and lightweighting advancements that successfully reduce carbon footprint, mitigate water and energy consumption, and leverage material reuse and recycling efforts.
"The Altair Enlighten Award is a special award that showcases how the automotive industry's leading minds – from the biggest names to its newest startups – are applying advanced technologies and responsible AI to create a better, greener industry," said James R. Scapa, founder, and chief executive officer, Altair. "Lightweighting, optimization, and sustainability are more important than ever in the modern automotive industry. Altair is proud to honor the innovations that will drive the future of a sustainable industry."
"As always, we're honored to be presenting the Enlighten Award together with Altair, and we look forward to seeing what innovations this year's submissions bring as we work towards a more sustainable automotive ecosystem," said Alan Amici, president, and chief executive officer, Center for Automotive Research.
Excerpts from the list of award winners
Enabling Technology
- Winner: Toyota, BASF Corp, and US Farathane – World's First Adoption of Resin Frame for IsoDynamic Seat
- Toyota converted more than 17 multi-piece steel parts into just one molded part, thus using far less raw material and decreasing waste. In addition, the process also generated an estimated 20% cost reduction and a 30% weight reduction. In addition, this is the world's first adoption of lateral, vertical, and horizontal dynamic motions with adjustable dampers for the driver and passenger seats in off-road vehicles.
- Runner-up: NIO – HPDC Material and Processing Methods for Efficient Structural Design
- With the goal of minimizing environmental impact, NIO used a new alloy material that doesn't require heat treatment, and used a more accurate, more efficient laser cleaning process. These changes reduced part mass by 31%, reduced part count by 98% (turning 54 stamped parts to one), and slashed manufacturing time by 60%.
Module Lightweighting
- Winner: Toyota, Adient, and Multimatic – IsoDynamic Seat, Accra® SuperStructure
- Multimatic's Accra® technology is a high-volume, hot-form manufacturing process that uses form blow hardening (including rapid water quenching) to manufacture ultra-high strength (boron) steel. Thanks to these production adjustments, the process reduced mass by 17%, reduced packaging space by 40%, and increased torsional load strength in key areas by 30%.
- Runner-up: Nemak – BMW HPDC E-Bracket
- Nemak developed a new alloy material for high-pressure die casting (HPDC) and reduced the BMW E-bracket's overall weight by 30%, resulting in a final weight of 16.74 kilograms (36.9 pounds).
- Partners for the 2023 Enlighten Award include Automotive Engineering SAE, Tech Briefs, Auto Bild Japan, Automobile Industrie, and the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers (KSAE).
About Altair
Altair is a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI) that provides software and cloud solutions in simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, and AI. Altair enables organizations across all industries to compete more effectively and drive smarter decisions in an increasingly connected world – all while creating a greener, more sustainable future. For more information, visit https://www.altair.com/.
