Alcoa Applauds Fuel Efficiency Standards

Alcoa has applauded new vehicle fuel efficiency standards, recently passed in the US House of Representatives as part of a new energy bill. The bill would require 35 miles per gallon fuel average for new domestic vehicles, including SUVs, by 2020 – a 40 per cent increase from current corporate average fuel-economy (CAFE) standards. “Lightweight materials, such as aluminium, play a critical role in making vehicles safer, cleaner and more fuel efficient,” said Kevin Kramer, president, Alcoa Wheel Products. “Light weighting represents one of the most viable options available to carmakers worldwide as they seek to improve the fuel efficiency and environmental performance of their products.”

According to Alcoa, each pound of aluminium replacing two pounds of iron or steel in a car can save a net 20 pounds of CO2 emissions over the typical lifetime of a vehicle. Since 1990, increased use of aluminium in the world’s vehicles has avoided burning 84 billion litres of gasoline and more than one billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. “In fact, it is projected that the growing use of aluminium in the transportation market will help make the aluminium industry greenhouse gas neutral by 2025,” said Kramer.

Alcoa recently broke ground on a new $22 million project at its Can Reclamation facility, part of its Tennessee Operations. Alcoa projects it will recycle nearly 14 billion aluminium cans in 2007.