ULSAB-AVC Recognized with Energy Efficiency Award
The ULSAB-AVC (Advanced Vehicle Concepts) project is the recipient of the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) 2005 Stars of Energy Efficiency Award, in recognition of its significant advances in solutions for vehicle energy efficiency, the World Steel Association announced today at its annual meeting.
ULSAB-AVC is one of three winners of this prestigious award, receiving the Category C honour reserved for non-profit organizations, academic institutions, consortia and interest groups. The award will be presented to Ed Opbroek, former director of the ULSAB-AVC consortium and current director of World Steel Association’s WorldAutoSteel, at the ASE’s "An Evening with the Star’s of Energy Efficiency" gala on 20 Oct. 2005 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., USA.
Over 500 guests and more than 30 U.S. congressional co-hosts, and a like number of corporate sponsors, will attend the gala to acknowledge those who have contributed the most to the cause of energy efficiency.
"We are honouring the ULSAB-AVC research initiative with this award because it has helped to make a dramatic impact on today's vehicle design and fuel economy," said Kateri Callahan, ASE President. "We’re pleased to recognize this significant work with our 2005 Stars of Energy Efficiency award."
The ULSAB-AVC project produced concepts for a C-Class European vehicle and a Mid-size North American vehicle. Remarkable achievements include significantly improved energy efficiency through new lightweight Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS) applications, achieving fuel economy of 53 mpg for a gasoline engine version and as much as 73 mpg using a diesel engine. As well, the ULSAB-AVC concepts have a potential reduction in total primary energy consumption over the vehicle life cycle of approximately 50 percent, compared to a United States Automotive Materials Partnership study vehicle.1 Designed and engineered by Porsche Engineering Services, Inc., the concepts meet or exceed the most stringent crash safety requirements, and attain high-volume manufacturability at affordable costs. All of this was accomplished using steel, the most recyclable material in the world.
"This award is a great achievement for the ULSAB-AVC Consortium," said Ian Christmas, Secretary General, World Steel Association. "It brings clear confirmation to us that the work our member companies so diligently pursue is creating a marked impact on the world."
ULSAB-AVC and its sister research projects, the UltraLight Steel Auto Body (ULSAB), UltraLight Steel Auto Closures (ULSAC), UltraLight Steel Auto Suspensions (ULSAS), were completed over the course of the last nine years. The international, consortia that spearheaded the projects were comprised of steel companies, representing 22 countries and 35 steel producers. Comprehensive reports on the ULSAB family of research can be found on this website.
ULSAB-AVC received its nomination for the ASE award from John Catterall, Design Engineering, General Motors Corp. "ULSAB-AVC and the ULSAB family of research projects revolutionized the kinds of steels normally applied to vehicle architectures, as well as demonstrated cutting edge steel vehicle design," Catterall noted. "We felt it was deserving of consideration for this energy efficiency award."
"This family of research represents over €50 million in private investment by the world’s sheet steel producers," said Christmas. "Our member companies are committed to supporting automakers with thoroughly researched options for efficient vehicles."
ULSAB-AVC concept demonstrations have been credited with bringing the potential for safe, affordable, fuel efficient vehicles that are environmentally responsible to near-term reality.
"As we attend automotive conferences and work with our customers around the world, we see continual evidence of the concepts and philosophies, conceived in the ULSAB-AVC project, adapted to production vehicle designs," noted Dr. Henrik Adam, Senior Vice President, ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG and World Steel Association-WorldAutoSteel Chairman. "We strove to provide solutions that were implementable in today’s manufacturing environment, and we see that happening."
Automakers are faced with pressure to reduce the automobile’s environmental impact by reducing its weight. They have the extra challenge to achieve this weight reduction while also improving safety and maintaining affordability—requirements that are in direct opposition to each other. So important was this initiative, on a global basis, that the involvement of the international steel community was solicited. Consequently this initiative grew to a global research and development effort launched by the ULSAB family of international research consortia.
"These consortia were unprecedented in world industrial history, bringing competing steel producers together in a close-knit working environment to achieve a common goal for its customers," said Opbroek. "In addition to dramatic technical achievement, there was also remarkable achievement in overcoming cultural, language, legal, financial, governance and marketplace issues necessary for 35 competing companies to work together effectively."
WorldAutoSteel continues to implement findings of the ULSAB family of research. As well, WorldAutoSteel conducts other research and development projects to assist automakers in effectively applying new steel technologies to reach design, safety and environmental goals.
The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, economy, and national security. The Alliance dinner, the nation's premier energy efficiency awards ceremony, honours those individuals, companies, or organizations that have made an exemplary contribution to energy efficiency during the past year. The caliber of this year's applicants established a new benchmark, creating a daunting selection process for the Alliance Development and Awards Committee, which is chaired by Alliance Board Co-Chair James DeGraffenreidt, Jr. After careful review, many months of deliberation and a record number of meetings, the Committee chose winners. Other winners of the 2005 ASE Award are the DFW International Airport (Category A) and the Burlington Electric Department (Category B). The Charles H. Percy Award goes to the president of the California Public Utilities Commission, Michael Peevey. And the ASE Chairman’s Award goes to two members of the Alliance Board of Directors: William Keese, former Chairman of the California Energy Commission and Ross Pillari, President of BP America. www.ase.org
