Is Automotive Light Weighting with Plastics A No-Brainer?

Margaret Zahller, PE INTERNATIONAL, Inc. Keith Christman, American Chemistry CouncilChristoph Koffler, PhD PE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.

LCA XII Conference, Tacoma, WASeptember 25, 2012

• Comparative cradle-to-grave LCA

• Polymers used to reduce part weight and fuel use in automotive parts

• ISO 14040/44 compliant, critically reviewed

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Project OverviewCase studies

Ford Taurus Front End Bolster

Chevrolet Trailblazer / GMC Envoy Running Board

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PE Sustainability Services

Understand Strategize Improve Succeed!

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Sustainability Improvement Journey

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Sustainability Assessment Sustainability Planning& Management

Sustainability Performance& Improvement Success Goals

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z

420.08.2012

Model Year 201052% PP

45% glass3% steel

9 lb

Functional unit

● Providing structural and component support of a vehicle front over a vehicle lifetime of 150,000 miles

● Passes the Ford latch pull test to support a load of 5,340N without separation.

Ford Taurus Front End Bolster Case Study

Model Year 200852% PP

48% steel 15.1 lb

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z

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20.08.2012

Functional unit

● Providing a stiffness satisfying GM specification within an area of 1.761 m by 0.1275 m over a vehicle lifetime of 150,000 miles

● Meets GM specification for vertical deflection

Model Year 20049% TPO top cover91% steel frame + mounting brackets

28.5 lb

Model Year 200760% PP,

40% glass13.9 lb

Chevrolet Trailblazer / GMC Envoy Running Board Case Study

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• Included production of upstream materials and energy, product manufacturing, use, and end-of-life treatment

• Design data (BOM) collected from auto industry, including scrap rates

• ACC/USLCI polypropylene (2010)

• End-of-life assumptions• 98% of steel recovered for recycling• Plastics to landfill

• Avoided burden

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Data Collection and Modeling

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• Calculated fuel reduction due to light weighting1

• Baseline products: zero fuel reduction• Lightweight products: negative “fuel consumption”

• Based on US driving cycle

• Results assessed with and without adaptation to the drive train

• Fuel reduction two to three times higher with adaptation

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1Koffler C, Rohde-Brandenburger K (2010): On the calculation of fuel savings through lightweight design in automotive life cycle assessments, Int J Life Cycle Assess (2010) 15:128-135

Fuel Consumption

Primary Energy Demand

Global Warming Potential Acidification Potential

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Ford Taurus Bolster Results

2010 bolster compared to 2008 bolster

2008 bolster is the baseline, represented by the value zero

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Primary Energy Demand

Global Warming Potential Acidification Potential

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Trailblazer/Envoy Running Board Results

2007 plastic running board compared to 2004 running board

2004 running board is the baseline, represented by the value zero

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Without Drive Train Adaptation

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Fuel Reduction Potential – Monte Carlo Results

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With drive train adaptation

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Fuel Reduction Potential – Monte Carlo Results

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• Even assuming no adaptation

• Lighter products outperform the baseline for global warming potential and primary energy demand

• Bolster also performs better than the baseline for acidification potential

• With Adaptation

• Lightweight parts perform even better across all impact categories

• Increasingly likely with CAFE standards

• Greater benefit if parts recovered at end of life

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Conclusions

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Thank You