At the upcoming two sessions in 2022, Chen Ailian, deputy to the National People’s Congress and chairman of the board of directors of Wanfeng Group, has prepared 2 proposals + 8 proposals, with topics related to law, industry, and people’s livelihood. One of the important suggestions is to speed up the application of magnesium alloy industry in automobile lightweight.
At present, in order to promote energy conservation and emission reduction, all countries in the world have implemented policies to force auto manufacturers to reduce vehicle fuel consumption. The research and forecast results of China Automotive Information Technology Co., Ltd. show that the auto industry is expected to achieve carbon peak in 2028 and achieve carbon neutrality in 2050. and. The “dual carbon goal” has made vehicle lightweighting an important breakthrough for major car companies. Magnesium alloys are one of the most promising options among many vehicle lightweighting paths.
According to relevant research, 60% of the fuel used by a car is consumed by the car’s own weight. For every 10% reduction in the vehicle’s own weight, its fuel efficiency can be increased by more than 5%. 1L of fuel can reduce CO2 emissions by 2.5kg, reducing annual emissions by more than 30%. According to statistics, in 2020, each car in North America will use 6.8kg of magnesium alloy, Japan will use 9.3kg, and Europe will use 14kg, while the average consumption per domestic car is less than 3kg.
It is worth noting that my country’s magnesium resources and characteristics have outstanding advantages. Relevant data show that more than 80% of the magnesium in the global market is exported from China. Magnesium is an emerging lightweight metal material, compared with higher strength steel and aluminum alloy, and the weight reduction effect of magnesium alloy is more obvious. Magnesium alloy is light in weight, strong in shock absorption, good in casting performance, strong in automated production capacity, long in mold life, and dimensionally stable. It is the most effective lightweight material for automobiles. In addition, the die-cast magnesium alloy material can be recycled without affecting the performance of the material, which is especially suitable for circular economy and energy-saving and low-carbon production requirements, which is conducive to environmental protection and resource conservation.
In the past year, Chen Ailian found in the survey that although magnesium alloys have a great effect on the lightweight of automobiles, consumers lack an in-depth understanding of the performance and technological progress of magnesium alloys, and there is also a lack of understanding of the role of lightweighting; secondly, With the expansion of the application of magnesium and magnesium alloys, especially in the lightweight of automobiles, the current international standards and domestic standards are insufficient, and cannot meet the standard needs of both the supply and demand sides in time; thirdly, the Ministry of Science and Technology established both during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period. However, the overall investment is obviously insufficient, and the investment of various vehicle companies in the research and development and production of magnesium alloys is also very limited.
In addition, my country’s high-performance magnesium alloy material industry started late and has a weak foundation, and its application is still at the middle and low end of the industrial chain and value chain. There is a big gap between the key process technology and foreign countries, and most of the high-end equipment relies on imports. The technology and equipment required for research and development are often restricted by foreign exports, which makes the research and development of magnesium alloy materials difficult, especially the research and development of many high-end core materials is difficult, the performance improvement is slow, and the production capacity is seriously insufficient. In response to the above problems, Chen Ailian put forward the following three suggestions:
The first is to build a lightweight standard system for magnesium alloys. The application of magnesium alloys in the automotive field must start from the whole system, systematically consider and practice the lightweight of automobiles, and carry out lightweight standards for automobiles from the aspects of body lightweight design, parts lightweight design, and shape lightweight design. Systematic construction. It is suggested that industry associations and the government should increase the policy orientation and standard formulation of automobile lightweight. In the formulation of industrial policies, product standards, and environmental protection standards, the trend and progress of vehicle lightweighting should be fully considered, and regulations conducive to guiding and restraining corporate behavior will be issued. Encourage domestic vehicle manufacturers to use lightweight, environmentally friendly and easy-to-recycle magnesium alloy materials, and increase the proportion of curb weight. At the same time, relevant policies have been introduced to improve the technical standards for imported cars and encourage the import of models with light materials.
The second is to establish a magnesium alloy industrialization promotion alliance. It is recommended to establish an industrialization promotion alliance to promote the application of magnesium alloys through a series of joint actions and joint development. The alliance should be led by industry associations and societies, with the participation of auto parts companies, magnesium alloy companies, universities, scientific research institutions, and government departments to establish an upstream and downstream linkage mechanism that the government should guide. Through information exchange, technical training, establishment of public R&D platforms, subjects and projects, joint implementation of plans, and sharing of results, the development and application process of magnesium alloys will be promoted. Learning from the cooperation model of the U.S. automobile industry to promote the application of magnesium alloys, the government and enterprises jointly set up a medium and long-term research plan for magnesium alloys for automobiles, consolidate and enhance the status of magnesium alloy materials, and promote the important mission that magnesium alloys should undertake in the lightweight of automobiles , to meet the complex and diverse needs of the market.
The third is to increase investment in scientific research on magnesium alloy lightweighting. In the construction of “production, education and research”, focus on the independent development and application of magnesium alloy materials for the preparation and testing of high-end equipment, reduce the dependence on imported equipment, and promote the rapid, efficient and intelligent manufacturing process of magnesium alloy enterprises. Increase the support for the construction and industrialization of the industry technology innovation system and the investment of funds into the government and industry organizations, and support the establishment of a new technology innovation system with enterprises as the main body and a combination of “production, education, research and use”. It is recommended that the government give priority to and increase support for magnesium alloy industrialization projects in related scientific and technological research plans, industrialization promotion plans, and market development plans. Consider establishing a tax compensation mechanism and incentive mechanism for domestic vehicle magnesium alloy research and development projects and new products, and start a special industrialization project driven by application promotion.
“Lightweight automobiles have become an inevitable trend in the future development of the automobile industry. As the lightest engineering structural metal materials, there are still many bottlenecks to be overcome in the application of magnesium alloy materials, which requires close cooperation between the automobile industry and the magnesium industry. Increase research and development efforts, jointly promote the industrialization development process of lightweight automobiles, and make new and greater contributions to the dual-carbon strategy.” Chen Ailian told a reporter from the Financial Associated Press.