Constellium at the 2019 SIA Multi-Material Conference in Paris: Aluminium—The Material of Choice for Electric Vehicles

1. ALUMINIUM: THE MATERIAL OF CHOICE
FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Hervé Ribes, Christian Lange

2. Summary
2
> Constellium a strategic partner to global automakers
> Light weighting a strong trend of all vehicles (ICE & EV)
> Recent material innovation in aluminium sheets/extrusions
> Application to battery enclosures: aluminium is the material of choice
• Protection of the batteries
• Sealing the enclosure and ensuring it is leak-proof
• Thermal management
• Integration in the vehicle
> Conclusion: Aluminium the best choice for electric vehicles

3. Constellium at a glance
3
> We are a global leader in the design and manufacture of a broad range of
innovative rolled and extruded aluminium products
25
production facilities
3
R&D centers
~12,000
employees
€5.7 billion
2018 revenues
> Focused on three core end markets:
• Automotive
• Aerospace
• Packaging
• plus Industry, Transportation and Defense

4. Constellium: A global network
4
Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S.
Muscle Shoals, Alabama, U.S.
Plymouth, Michigan, U.S.
Ravenswood, West Virginia, U.S.
Van Buren, Michigan, U.S.
White, Georgia, U.S.
Lakeshore, Ontario, Canada (Astrex) – JV
San Luis Potosí, Mexico
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7
3
5
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62
8
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2
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10
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13
14
15
16
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Burg, Germany
C-TEC, Voreppe, France
Crailsheim, Germany
Dahenfeld, Neckarsulm, Germany
Decin, Czech Republic
Gottmadingen, Germany
Issoire, France
Landau, Germany
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19
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25
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Baltimore,
MD, U.S.
Paris
Schiphol-Rijk,
The Netherlands
(head office)
Singapore
Zurich
Tokyo, Japan
Shanghai,
China
Séoul, South Korea
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Changchun, China – JV
Levice, Slovakia
Montreuil-Juigné, France
Neuf-Brisach, France
Nuits-Saint-Georges, France
Singen, Germany
Ussel, France
Valais, Switzerland
University Technology Center,
Brunel University London,
Uxbridge, UK
Zilina, Slovakia
Vigo, Spain
> An extensive footprint for design, development and production
in Europe, North America and China
26
27
26
27
28Nanjing

5. Light weighting of all vehicles (ICE and EV)
drives Auto Body Sheet growth
5
Better vehicle dynamics
(acceleration, performance)
Longer range (autonomy)
Fewer batteries required
Optimized design (less energy
absorption, lower loads on chassis
and suspension)
ICE EV

6. Light weighting of all vehicles (ICE and EV)
drives growth of aluminium
6
0
200
400
600
800
1.000
1.200
2017 2021e 2025e
Europe Aluminium ABS
Demand (kt)
Source: Constellium analysis, CRU (Republished under license from CRU International Ltd.)
-
500
1.000
2015 2020e 2025e
Aluminium Extrusion
Demand in Select Automotive
Applications (kt)
CMS, Body Structures, Chassis Battery Enclosures
CAGR
~10%
Source: Constellium analysis, CRU, IHS, Bloomberg

7. 7
> To reach target for combustion engine, aluminium is widely implemented and a
standard for mass market
• Closures, Crash Management Systems (CMS), Side Impact Beams, Body-In-
White
• SUVs: Most closures in aluminium
• Passenger and commercial vans: aluminium hood and aluminium CMS
> On EV, aluminium is extensively used for battery enclosures
• An European OEM
• An Asian OEM
Light weighting of all vehicles (ICE and EV)
growth of aluminium

8. Recent material innovations
Auto Body Sheet
8
> Ultralex® in specific temper can be processed with efficient forming
process without specific additional thermal treatment / surface treatment
> Final part YS>480 MPa, UTS >540 MPa after paint bake
> Weight saving more than 30% compared to current aluminum solution
Side Impact Beam made of Ultralex®

9. 9
> High-Strength Alloys
(HSA6.xxx)
• Yield strength up to 450MPa
typical
• Weight savings up to 40%
Recent material innovations
Extrusions from the 6xxx family
> High-Strength Crash Alloys
(HCA6.xxx)
• Yield strength up to 300MPa
typical

10. Example: battery enclosure
10
> Functionality analysis
Protection of the modules
during crash impacts (side,
front, bottom)
Cooling/heating of the modules
(integrated thermal management)
Integration in the vehicle
• Weight savings
• Stiffness
• Modularity EV/PHEV
• Corrosion resistance
Seal the enclosure
for safety

11. Example: battery enclosure
11
> Protection of the modules in side/frontal/undercarriage crash impacts
• Load cases

12. 12
…approached by physical test & corresponding numerical model
> Protection of the modules and cooling plates from penetration / puncture of the
bottom during undercarriage impact
• No major damage or geometrical deformations on HV-battery-pack
• Design of bottom sheet based on test and simulations at component level
Example: battery enclosure

13. Example: battery enclosure
13
> Protection of the modules from penetration / puncture of the bottom
• Technical solutions in aluminium sheets or extruded profiles based on
wide range of alloys combining high strength/ductility
• Weight optimized
• Cost
• Higher protective space (bp)
• Complex shapes possible
• High stiffness (from side as well)
• High strength
• Integrated cooling
• Double layer effect

14. 14
Intrusion performance optimization: CORALEX® O
Enhanced performance possible by material selection
(shift from conventional to adapted alloys solutions)
Weight gain: CORALEX® HXY* or
SECURALEX®UHS T6
Up to 20% of weight saving possible while keeping
comparable intrusion performance
* HXY: Optimized temper
0
200
400
5754 O CORALEX® O CORALEX® H28 Securalex®UHS
[MPa]
UTS
> Optimized solution possible based on customer demand:
Example: battery case bottom plate: 1st outcome

15. Example: battery enclosure
15
> Protection of the modules from side/frontal crash impacts
• Design of side and front extruded profiles based on simulations correlated
with component tests
Crush test on side component

16. Example: battery enclosure
16
> Protection of the modules from side/frontal crash impacts
• Optimized multicellular design of side beam extrusion to maximize energy
absorption and force level and minimize the intrusion

17. Example: battery enclosure
17
> Close and seal the enclosure
• Numerous assembly technologies available for aluminium

18. Example: battery enclosure
18
> Cooling/heating of the modules – thermal management
• Various internal and external temperature impacts make thermal
management mandatory

19. > Cooling/heating of the modules – thermal management
• Aluminium thermal conductivity is a strong advantage.
Example: battery enclosure
19
Thermal
Conductivity
(W/m-K)
Density
(g/cm3)
Specific
Thermal
Conductivity
(TC/Density)
Specific
Thermal
Conductivity
(Normalized)
Steel standard 50 7.8 6.5 1.0
Copper pure 360 8.9 40 6.3
Aluminum 6xxx family 200 2.7 74 11.6

20. Example: battery enclosure
20
> Cooling/heating of the modules – thermal management
• Design of extruded profiles for the bottom to optimize the cooling of the
modules based on thermal simulations
> Modeling:
> Different setups:

21. > Integration in the vehicle
• Aluminium characteristics for easy integration in the vehicle:
o Modularity
Possibility to adapt the design for different sizes / for PHEV application
Possibility to adapt the extrusion shape for pipes integration
o Aluminium solutions allow weight savings up to 50% compared to steel
21
PHEVEV
Example: battery enclosure

22. 22
Example: battery enclosure
> Integration in the vehicle
• Aluminium characteristics for easy integration in the vehicle:
o Stiffness
Resonance frequency < 50Hz
Static torsion requirements
o Corrosion resistance
Very good corrosion resistance, without additional treatment, especially for 6xxx alloys

23. Conclusions
23
> Aluminium is the ideal material for battery enclosures:
• Weight savings
• Crash Management properties
• Stiffness thanks to closed cross-section extruded profiles
• Thermal Management properties
• Modularity – easy manufacturing
> Constellium offers solutions that combine best-in-class aluminium sheets
and extrusions

24. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
QUESTIONS?
Our contact information
herve.ribes@constellium.com
christian.lange@constellium.com