Enhanced lightweight design – first results of the FP7 project ENLIGHT

Over recent decades, cars have become larger and heavier with every new generation. The main drivers of such a weight increase have been the improved safety and comfort requirements. Decades of R&D investments to tackle this tendency have resulted in a substantially increase in the weight-specific performance of components and assemblies in terms of cost, strength and stiffness. This applies equally to the EVs mainly because in practically all cases they represent a derivative of a conventional powered model. However the need for weight reduction in future EVs, without unduly compromising performance and safety, is even stronger since additional weight translates into either reduced driving range or in larger, heavier and more expensive batteries. Within this context, the European Green Vehicle project ENLIGHT aims to advance highly innovative lightweight material technologies for application in structural vehicle parts of future volume produced Electric Vehicles (EVs) along four axes: performance, manufacturability, cost effectiveness and lifecycle footprint. The main target is to develop viable and sustainable solutions for medium production volume up to 50.000 EVs destined to reach the market in the next 8-12 years. The specific objectives of the ENLIGHT project are on holistic and integrated conceptual design and manufacturing concerning how the technologies and materials addressed (in combination with materials / forming/ joining processes coming from other previous and on-going projects) can be combined into a representative medium-volume EV. The solutions will be demonstrated in five modules: a front module and central floor module, a front door, a sub-frame and suspension system as well as a cross-car beam. In this paper, a summary of the major results obtained up to the 3rd project year will be presented.