Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWSFutureCarProduction – Comprehensive Approaches for the Evaluation and Development of Integral Car Body Concepts for Sustainable Vehicle Manufacturing
The automotive industry is currently undergoing the most profound transformation in its history. The shift to electric powertrains is considered a key prerequisite for achieving climate-neutral mobility by 2050 at the latest – an objective anchored in the EU’s Zero Pollution Action programme. While roughly 80% of a vehicle’s CO₂ emissions have so far been generated during the use phase through exhaust gases, the rise of electromobility is increasingly shifting the main share of emissions to the production phase. In addition to the battery, the body-in-white is becoming the second-largest driver of CO₂ emissions and thus a crucial lever for ecological sustainability. It is expected that in the future, the demonstrable degree of sustainability – alongside cost and technical performance – will play a decisive role in the success of new body concepts.
The flagship project FutureCarProduction aims to develop comprehensive solution approaches for evaluating novel body structures in the automotive sector. To this end, methods, processes, and technologies will be established that enable systematic ecological assessment while ensuring that sustainability can be maintained even in the face of potential trade-offs with cost and technical requirements.
The objective is to develop a cost-effective solution based on laser welding technology with dynamic beam shaping that enables high-quality joining of low-cost, small aluminum cast components as well as hybrid joints combining sheet metal and cast parts. This approach opens up new opportunities for lightweight design, thereby contributing to an improved CO₂ footprint.
One key driver for this development is Tesla’s Giga Casting concept, which challenges established design and manufacturing principles in automotive body construction. While large, highly integrated aluminum castings offer significant efficiency gains, there remains a strong need for flexible and sustainable joining technologies for smaller cast components and hybrid structures. In this context, not only environmental aspects but also material and product quality, repairability, and crash safety are considered in a holistic manner.