They may necessitate the use of whole new technologies and inventions. The Partnership has identified automobile weight, advanced manufacturing technology, principal power source efficiency, energy storage, and electrical system efficiency as the systems most in need of new inventions to obtain the necessary improvements for a new generation of vehicles. Each of these areas has been analyzed in order to highlight predominant technological barriers, potential solutions, and the inventions needed to make the technology feasible for PNGV application. A key obstacle to developing any of these technologies for affordable mass production is the cost of materials, and the cost, robustness, and speed of manufacturing processes. Lightweight Materials Return to Top Cost effective processing and fabrication of lightweight components and structures is necessary to substantially reduce vehicle mass and, consequently, improve fuel efficiency.
Mass reduction is a proven method for obtaining improved fuel economy in vehicles.
For every 10 percent reduction in mass, approximately 5 percent improvement in fuel economy can be expected. However, the challenge is to achieve mass reduction without compromising passenger comfort and safety or sacrificing handling, performance, reliability, and cost. The materials that offer the best potential for weight reduction in high volume production vehicles include high-strength steels, aluminum, magnesium, and titanium alloys, and polymer and metal matrix composites. While these materials offer significant opportunities for weight reduction, there are barriers in cost and manufacturing for each material that must be overcome. The following table lists examples of the inventions needed in materials and materials processing.