Superior designs with steel for the EV age

Material developers and suppliers are constantly examining ways in which they can offer OEM customers advantages, particularly as competition intensifies in the electric vehicle (EV) sector with waves of new models regularly hitting the market. Steel specialists have identified cost-effective, high performance solutions to ensure their products are widely used, but what are the most important areas of improvement for the EV age, and where can material specialists offer carmakers a boost?

Covering every base

“The performance to weight ratio is the pinnacle,” Robert Ström, Senior Design Specialist, Automotive, SSAB, tells AMS. “It is the most important ratio to get right. In order to convince OEMs to use our products, we simply need to have the best ratio. After that, we can look into other areas like lowering costs and also cutting the environmental impact to cover all the bases.”

Maximising the performance to weight ratio has been a consistent priority for SSAB, and has resulted in thinner, lighter and stronger steel grades. Keeping the weight as low as possible while ensuring the material performs as intended, is a primary consideration for the EV market, especially as customer expectations for the next generation of EVs are growing, both in terms of range and performance.

Ström highlights SSAB’s large portfolio of advanced and ultra high strength steels (AHSS & UHSS), all of which have been meticulously designed to provide the best performance to weight ratio possible. He also mentions that SSAB provides custom steel grades for OEMs depending on their design goals – a strategy that is proving popular as carmakers develop their EV portfolios.

As well as the performance to weight ratio, cost-efficiency is a crucial consideration for materials used in EVs. Jonas Adolfsson, Business Development, Mobility Manager at SSAB, explains that keeping the price down will allow European carmakers to compete with Chinese OEMs that are rapidly bringing more new EVs to market at lower price tags.

“Cars are generally getting more expensive due to the advanced technology being equipped inside the vehicles, so we must find ways to save money and ensure this technology can be included,” Adolfsson continues. “EVs need to be cheaper to make, more cost-efficient to buy, and have great performance too, and steel solutions can help in all these areas.”

Another crucial aspect for consideration is safety. Carmakers must be sure that each base is covered, and Adolfsson describes it as a complex balancing act as EV designs develop. As a result, he emphasises the need for material specialists to be involved early on in the design phase.

Safeguarding cells

“As a designer, I was a little bit bored before the EV era because many of the cars on the market all looked and felt very similar,” Ström recalls. “But now, vehicle designs are going in very different directions, and that makes it fun to be a designer because there's a lot to do, and you can have a really significant impact. But it is also really tricky to identify the right solutions for the right vehicle.”

The EV era has also brought about new challenges for Ström and his team. For example, the lack of engine in the front of the vehicle means that the crumple zones on EVs must be adjusted accordingly. Weight distribution changes, as most of the heavy components are centralised in the lower floor of the vehicle where the battery pack is located. Furthermore, there can be no intrusion into the battery cells, so protecting them from every angle is extremely important, and poses difficulties particularly from side impacts.

Furthermore, as carmakers look to offer EVs with greater ranges, higher performances and more technologies to deliver superior user experiences, material developers need to respond quickly to offer the right solutions for each part of the vehicle. The only way to do this, says Ström, is to be involved in early design phases.

“As material specialists, we really need to be involved at the beginning of an EV project,” he emphasises. “It could have very significant benefits in terms of safety, performance and cost. We are convinced that steel has the best potential to obtain these benefits. And if we can help a company identify an improvement in any of these areas, they will have a clear advantage when they enter the market.”

Read the article: SSAB’s recycled steel more than “ready for the road”

Steelmaker SSAB is advancing the use of its recycled and fossil-free steels in automotive production, including its SSAB Zero offering, which promises up to 77% lower CO2 emissions with no loss in performance.

Easing profit problems

The latest generation of EVs on the market today are laden with technology, and introducing these new technologies inside the cabin is not only appealing to the consumer but also makes sense for the OEM. This is because carmakers are now finding ways to turn a profit by offering services through in-car technology – a new frontier of revenue. Ström expects this trend to have a knock-on effect across the entire industry.

“One of the big problems is that the manufacturers are not making enough profit,” he states. “Simplicity is important right now, and simple designs help keep the cost down. But that won’t always appeal to the customer, so we need to support ambitious design with cost-effective steel solutions, like using roll-formed profiles in martensitic steels.

"There are many other areas like this that we are working on.” Adolfsson agrees, and suggests that carmakers will find further cost-savings when material specialists like SSAB are able to consider the complete vehicle as a whole, as each element may have an impact on the next. This could also lead to improvements in other areas, such as lowering emissions across the value chain.

“We claim that steel provides the best solutions for cost-efficiency and performance in the EV age,” he stresses. “There is so much potential to meet big targets, and SSAB is well positioned to help our customers as they push the boundaries with EV design.”