Innovative high strength aluminium alloys, novel processing, joining and assembly technologies have been developed for use in light weight crash resistant battery enclosures and for the integration of such structures into ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs). The optimum combination of extrusions and sheet can provide architectural flexibility in meeting both the protective structures and the thermal management requirements which can control battery operating temperatures to precise levels reducing, the risk of thermal runaway and optimising battery pack operating temperatures during charging and driving to reduce energy losses. The novel enclosure architectures will provide scalable design and manufacturing concepts utilising agile multi-platform cells on the same production equipment, engineered to meet variable volume demands, while providing a kit of parts for local assembly and export options. This enables the introduction of multiple EV platforms as OEM technology demonstrators, critical to supporting OEM acceleration to high-volume electrification programs. Without such a solution, the high capital and manufacturing costs of the current production methods act as a significant barrier to low, then medium and high-volume production, thereby delaying the electrification timetable. The proposed solution further de-risks the supply chain by providing scale-up to high volume production by keeping capital costs to a minimum. This provides significant advantages in manufacturing and assembly costs and set up time whilst meeting current legislative requirements, providing the opportunity to define new standards of safety, crash management and energy efficiency. The ALIVE project will design, develop, assemble and extensively test aluminium intensive prototype enclosures and full-scale demonstrator enclosures for BMW and Volvo electric vehicles, forming an integrated pathway to UK battery pack production by providing the light weight enclosures aligned to current and future battery module technologies and power densities. The project aims to take another major step with disruptive high strength aluminium alloys and their processing and joining technologies, enabling new enclosure design concepts for the manufacture of both vehicle integration structures and battery enclosures for a new generation of lightweight hybrid and electric vehicles for the UK market that will have a major impact on the UK government's carbon reduction targets for the UK vehicle fleet. The project will establish a UK based manufacturing facility for world leading cost-efficient structural aluminium battery enclosures providing an on-shore resource for BEV and PHEV component manufacture, with the manufacturing concept capable of providing efficient transportation of parts for export assembly.

Jaguar Land Rover is leading a consortium of UK technology companies and universities to develop world- beating new lightweight vehicle technology. New materials and manufacturing technologies will be designed to reduce pollution with no compromise on premium vehicle performance and Jaguar Land Rover plan to integrate the technology and deploy it on future generations of exciting new cars and SUVs. Each innovation alone does not deliver sufficient improvement to justify the high cost of investment and innovation to such high technical standards but, collectively, with backing from Jaguar Land Rover, project partners and with Government support, there is a package of innovation that can beat the best other countries have to offer. The technology is expected to draw inward investment into the UK, develop new components with a minimum 10-year expected manufacturing life span, embed new skills into the UK's supply chain, and create and protect UK jobs in engineering and manufacturing

The increasing use of Al by vehicle OEMs is driven by its high strength to weight ratio, enabling substantially improved fuel economy & reduced CO2 emissions when substituted for heavier materials. However, the change of material presents new challenges with respect to design & methods of joining. The pre-treatment of the Al surface prior to bonding is the key to long service life. Pre-treatments successfully employed by the aerospace industry cannot be used in automotive production, where cheaper & more environmentally friendly pre- treatments are required. Specifically, the use of chromates is unacceptable. Hence, there is a need to develop chromate-free pre-treatments that will consistently provide the required level of performance, whilst being acceptable both in terms of general engineering practice and economy. OPTIMA will therefore prove technical feasibility of implementing in-line NDT within our chrome-free pre- treatment process for lightweight alloys to provide process control and assurance that we can achieve the level of performance required by our customers.