Intl labs make vehicles lighter, safer

Beijing Institute of Technology Chongqing Innovation Center. [Photo/liangjiang.gov.cn]

Beijing Institute of Technology Chongqing Innovation Center and CITIC Metal, CBMM, and China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI) recently established the Niobium Microalloying Automotive Materials Application Innovation Platform.

Beijing Institute of Technology Chongqing Innovation Center is in Liangjiang New Area, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality.

Two international joint laboratories – the Niobium Microalloying Automotive Steel Application Technology International Joint Laboratory and the Niobium Microalloying Automotive Steel Research International Joint Laboratory, have also been set up.

In 2022, China's automobile production and sales reached 27 million vehicles, ranking first globally for 14 consecutive years. At the same time, the market for new energy vehicles (NEVs) has experienced explosive growth.

New energy and lightweight are essential to achieve China's carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals in the automotive industry. However, this also poses more robust technological challenges for the research, manufacturing, and integration of high-performance automotive materials and components.

Microalloying automotive steel technology can effectively improve steel's strength, toughness, and formability and is an essential technical approach for achieving automotive lightweighting and safety.

Beijing Institute of Technology Chongqing Innovation Center has successfully developed the BriSteel technology, which crates non-coated, shot-free forming steel for automotive use. The innovative Si-Cr-Re system hot-forming steel can replace Al-Si-coated plates. It can be widely used in automotive structural materials and integrated component manufacturing, making vehicles lighter.

The Niobium Microalloying Automotive Materials Application Innovation Platform will integrate the automotive industry's needs and focus on the development, process technology, application technology, and certification of high-performance Niobium microalloying automotive materials.