aluminium profile exhibition | Applications for recycled aluminium - automotive industry shines

As an important material for automobile lightweighting, the application of aluminium alloy in automobiles is gradually deepening. The main products of China's recycled aluminium enterprises are aluminium alloy ingots and aluminium alloy liquid for automobiles, and their downstream customers are concentrated in the automobile industry. Its main customers are automobile vehicle or parts manufacturers, and the production and operation of the enterprise is closely related to the boom degree of the automobile industry. According to statistics, the automobile, motorbike and electric vehicle industries currently account for nearly 70% of recycled aluminium consumption.

According to aluminium profile exhibition, from 2011 to 2020, the aluminium consumption of single vehicle of automobile grows from 102kg/vehicle to 140kg/vehicle. In 2020, the aluminium consumption of single vehicle of China's passenger cars is about 140kg. It is expected that the aluminium consumption of single vehicle in 2025 exceeds 250kg, and that in 2030, the aluminium consumption of single vehicle will exceed 350kg. Aluminium consumption per vehicle for new energy vehicles has increased significantly compared with traditional vehicles. The trend of integrated die-casting will drive the rapid growth of heat treatment-free aluminium alloy material demand. At present, some new energy vehicle models have used all-aluminium body.

Aluminium parts for automobiles are concentrated in wheels (aluminium alloy wheels), engine blocks, cylinder heads, crankcases, intake tubes, pulleys, gearboxes, oil pumps, bumpers and other parts, most of which are made of cast aluminium alloys. With the pressure of energy saving and emission reduction brought about by the demand for automotive lightweight, automotive aluminium expanded to cover parts (four doors and two lids), all-aluminium body, as well as photovoltaic bezel, lithium battery liquid-cooled panels, aluminium-plastic film, collector and other components.

In addition, 80% of recycled aluminium ends up as aluminium castings, 15% as aluminium rods and the remaining 5% as sheet and foil. Most of the old aluminium scrap ends up being downgraded. In terms of end-use, about 80% is used as aluminium castings, 15% is used as aluminium rods for aluminium profiles, and the remaining only 5% is used as sheet and strip foils, so the proportion of grade-preserving use can be achieved at less than 10%. In terms of downstream segmentation, the downstream coverage of China's recycled aluminium alloy in the early days was mainly in the motorbike parts, general machinery parts and other industries. In recent years, recycled aluminium is mainly used for aluminium alloy castings and die-castings in the automobile, motorbike, machinery and equipment, communication electronics, electronic appliances, hardware lamps and lighting industries.