State-of-the-art Analysis on Alternative Materials for the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry is under increasing pressure to meet environmental and performance demands at competitive costs, leading to disruptive changes on how materials are produced, used and managed at the end-of-life. As outlined in this paper, the trends in material use are strongly interlinked to the regulatory environment and the overarching European Union ambition for a carbon neutral and circular economy. The competitiveness and resilience of the automotive industry is dependent on the availability of appropriate alternative materials and the role of research is crucial in ensuring that the industry specific needs are met. CLEPA, as the association that represents the European automotive suppliers, supports a technology open approach to exploit all potential pathways and design options to achieve in a truly sustainable manner climate neutrality by 2050.