Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LEVIS (Advanced Light materials for sustainable Electrical Vehicles by Integration of eco-design and circular economy Strategies)
Reporting period: 2021-02-01 to 2022-07-31
Lightweight is an indispensable feature in automotive applications in general, and especially in electric vehicles, since it contributes to improving vehicle efficiency in terms of kWh consumed per km and vehicle range. Reduced weight will lead to faster market growth of EVs replacing traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, which will ultimately contribute to reaching the target greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050.
By adopting an eco and circular design concept all the way from the design phase up to the end-of-life stage, LEVIS will develop, verify and demonstrate lightweight components and structures for electric vehicles. Enhanced sustainability, improved raw material use, energy and cost efficiency, and reduced weight with yet high structural integrity and reliability are expected to be achieved. LEVIS envisages the use of multi-material solutions based on fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites integrated with metals, which will be produced using cost-effective and scalable manufacturing technologies. The benefit and competitiveness will be showcased through three real-case demonstrators: a suspension control arm, a battery holding set and a cross car beam.
LEVIS will develop a new manufacturing route able to fill the current industrial gap present in mass production automotive applications, aiming at the development of structural parts using hybrid materials integrated with Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems, to achieve a significant weight reduction while keeping the mechanical in-service performance of the parts. For that, new sustainable materials, suitable manufacturing/assembly procedures, advanced simulation methodologies/workflows and innovative sensing/monitoring technologies will be developed, implemented and validated. Recyclable resins and bio-resourced and recycled CFs will be developed and used for enhanced sustainability. The production scale-up capability of these lightweight materials and structural parts will be verified and demonstrated. A circular-design approach will be used for constructing the structural parts to maximise their service life and enable easy, effective and efficient dismantling and recovery of materials with sufficient quality for second use.
By adopting an eco and circular design concept all the way from the design phase up to the end-of-life stage, LEVIS will develop, verify and demonstrate lightweight components and structures for electric vehicles. Enhanced sustainability, improved raw material use, energy and cost efficiency, and reduced weight with yet high structural integrity and reliability are expected to be achieved. LEVIS envisages the use of multi-material solutions based on fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites integrated with metals, which will be produced using cost-effective and scalable manufacturing technologies. The benefit and competitiveness will be showcased through three real-case demonstrators: a suspension control arm, a battery holding set and a cross car beam.
LEVIS will develop a new manufacturing route able to fill the current industrial gap present in mass production automotive applications, aiming at the development of structural parts using hybrid materials integrated with Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems, to achieve a significant weight reduction while keeping the mechanical in-service performance of the parts. For that, new sustainable materials, suitable manufacturing/assembly procedures, advanced simulation methodologies/workflows and innovative sensing/monitoring technologies will be developed, implemented and validated. Recyclable resins and bio-resourced and recycled CFs will be developed and used for enhanced sustainability. The production scale-up capability of these lightweight materials and structural parts will be verified and demonstrated. A circular-design approach will be used for constructing the structural parts to maximise their service life and enable easy, effective and efficient dismantling and recovery of materials with sufficient quality for second use.
The objective of WP1 is the design and manufacture of demonstrators that fulfil the set requirements through a methodology that integrates eco-design criteria in the material and process selection from the early stages of the demonstrator development. During the first period, specifications for each demonstrator have been defined, as well as the physical and virtual tests that will be used to ensure that the innovative materials and processes will fulfil the high-quality standards of the electric vehicle while keeping production costs at a minimum. An eco-design toolkit was designed, and the resulting eco-design principles applied to the design of the demonstrators.
The objective of WP2 is to develop innovative materials to lower the weight of electric vehicles, based on carbon fibre composites, multi-material solutions and one-shot processes. So far, an innovative thermoplastic liquid acrylic resin and a debondable-on-demand structural adhesive, both designed for composite-metal bonding, have been developed. More breakthrough innovations are on the way, such as low-cost, bio-based carbon fibres, and composite semi-products allowing lighter parts, high throughput manufacturing and sustainable end-of-life strategies.
The main goal of WP3 is to provide cost/effective manufacturing solutions to enable the production of the multi-material case studies. During the first period, different materials have been defined for each case study including metal and composite grades and the process windows of the manufacturing processes have been studied. Different sensors have been manufactured for the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of the components
In WP4 different computational analyses are being carried out to evaluate the structural integrity of the components developed in the project. The homogenized properties of composite materials have been estimated from the properties of the individual components, the fibres and the resin. In addition, a fatigue model for the prediction of stiffness degradation under cyclic loading is also being developed. Finally, SHM techniques are being investigated to evaluate and predict the health status of the components.
In WP5, end-of-life (EoL) strategies were identified for the two types of thermoplastic matrices used in LEVIS (aliphatic polyamides and reactive acrylic Elium resins), adhering to the principles of preserving maximal composite value via on-demand disassembly, maximizing reuse and/or repurpose of composite materials and recycling of fibres and resins.
In WP6, the first part of the project has been dedicated to developing the methodology that will enable the comparison between the benchmark and new components and the assessment of KPIs. The benchmark products for each demonstrator were defined, and the Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) on these benchmark products were completed.
The objective of WP2 is to develop innovative materials to lower the weight of electric vehicles, based on carbon fibre composites, multi-material solutions and one-shot processes. So far, an innovative thermoplastic liquid acrylic resin and a debondable-on-demand structural adhesive, both designed for composite-metal bonding, have been developed. More breakthrough innovations are on the way, such as low-cost, bio-based carbon fibres, and composite semi-products allowing lighter parts, high throughput manufacturing and sustainable end-of-life strategies.
The main goal of WP3 is to provide cost/effective manufacturing solutions to enable the production of the multi-material case studies. During the first period, different materials have been defined for each case study including metal and composite grades and the process windows of the manufacturing processes have been studied. Different sensors have been manufactured for the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of the components
In WP4 different computational analyses are being carried out to evaluate the structural integrity of the components developed in the project. The homogenized properties of composite materials have been estimated from the properties of the individual components, the fibres and the resin. In addition, a fatigue model for the prediction of stiffness degradation under cyclic loading is also being developed. Finally, SHM techniques are being investigated to evaluate and predict the health status of the components.
In WP5, end-of-life (EoL) strategies were identified for the two types of thermoplastic matrices used in LEVIS (aliphatic polyamides and reactive acrylic Elium resins), adhering to the principles of preserving maximal composite value via on-demand disassembly, maximizing reuse and/or repurpose of composite materials and recycling of fibres and resins.
In WP6, the first part of the project has been dedicated to developing the methodology that will enable the comparison between the benchmark and new components and the assessment of KPIs. The benchmark products for each demonstrator were defined, and the Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) on these benchmark products were completed.
LEVIS aims to provide the means to efficiently develop, verify and scale up the production of sustainable, lightweight materials and structural parts for electric vehicles, pursuing enhanced energy and cost efficiency through the entire vehicle lifecycle. To assess this impact, LEVIS’s outcomes will be showcased in three real-case demonstrators. Moreover, the end-of-life recovery, reuse and recycling of the developed components will be assessed, and the possibility to extend the eco-design, production and end-of-life processes to other vehicle components will be evaluated.
LEVIS will focus on achieving a significant weight reduction (around 20-40%) following sustainable processes with an equivalent final cost, thanks to the optimised deployment of advanced light materials. Along with vehicle weight reduction, sensor technologies will enable the monitoring of the components' structural integrity during their service life, to early identify safety and performance issues. One-shot production approaches will be adopted to speed-up production and reduce the time-to-market of the new components. To cover the whole lifecycle, strategies for the circular use of the end-of-life elements will allow to reuse/recycle 80% of the materials. This will be validated through a Life Cycle Assessment for the project demonstrators, while the techno-economic viability will be assessed by a Life Cycle Costing report.
Five industrial partners dedicated to the manufacturing of vehicle components, with a strong presence in the market, will facilitate the adoption of the project results by a wide range of European industries. Besides the direct integration and market uptake of the lightweight components developed in the demonstrators, the manufacturing, dismantling, repairing, recycling, recovery and remanufacturing processes, together with the structural health monitoring techniques, will be analysed to be deployed in the life cycle of other automotive components. Thanks to an equivalent cost for the end users, the project developments will minimize the market entry barriers, providing benefits not only to the final customers but also to the environment and society, through the associated reduction in energy consumption and emissions.
LEVIS will focus on achieving a significant weight reduction (around 20-40%) following sustainable processes with an equivalent final cost, thanks to the optimised deployment of advanced light materials. Along with vehicle weight reduction, sensor technologies will enable the monitoring of the components' structural integrity during their service life, to early identify safety and performance issues. One-shot production approaches will be adopted to speed-up production and reduce the time-to-market of the new components. To cover the whole lifecycle, strategies for the circular use of the end-of-life elements will allow to reuse/recycle 80% of the materials. This will be validated through a Life Cycle Assessment for the project demonstrators, while the techno-economic viability will be assessed by a Life Cycle Costing report.
Five industrial partners dedicated to the manufacturing of vehicle components, with a strong presence in the market, will facilitate the adoption of the project results by a wide range of European industries. Besides the direct integration and market uptake of the lightweight components developed in the demonstrators, the manufacturing, dismantling, repairing, recycling, recovery and remanufacturing processes, together with the structural health monitoring techniques, will be analysed to be deployed in the life cycle of other automotive components. Thanks to an equivalent cost for the end users, the project developments will minimize the market entry barriers, providing benefits not only to the final customers but also to the environment and society, through the associated reduction in energy consumption and emissions.