Altair has named the winners of the 2024 Altair Enlighten Award. Presented in association with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), the award honors the greatest sustainability and lightweighting advancements that successfully reduce carbon footprint, mitigate water and energy consumption, and leverage material reuse and recycling efforts.
Throughout its 12-year history, this prestigious Enlighten Award has become a coveted prize sought after by the automotive industry’s most forward-thinking companies. It was also recognized by EV Magazine as a top 10 sustainability award in 2024.
“The Enlighten Award is the leading award highlighting the automotive industry’s finest innovations in sustainable technology. We are thrilled to once again recognize the organizations creating a more sustainable future,” said James R. Scapa, founder and chief executive officer, Altair. “This year’s winners can consider themselves the best innovators meeting those challenging targets.”
“Each edition of the Enlighten Award showcases the products, processes, and organizations that are ushering in the next generation of groundbreaking automotive technology,” said Alan Amici, President and Chief Executive Officer, Center for Automotive Research. “We cannot wait to recognize this year’s winners, and we are once again thrilled to present this award in conjunction with Altair and the rest of our valued partners.”
Below is the complete list of all winning organizations, runners-up, and honorable mentions.
Sustainable Product
Winner: DuPont – DuPont™ BETAMATE™ Broad Bake Adhesive Technology
DuPont™ BETAMATE™ broad bake adhesive technology helps reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions during vehicle body manufacturing by allowing adhesives to cure at lower temperatures, thus saving energy via reduced e-coat oven temperatures and shorter oven cycle times.
Runner-up: Bridgestone Americas – Turanza EV Tire
The Turanza EV grand touring tire is manufactured with 50 percent renewable and recycled materials – one of the highest percentages among commercially available replacement tires – and features Bridgestone ENLITEN™ technology to optimize performance and improve tire life span.
Sustainable Process
Winner: BMW M GmbH, AMC GmbH, Bcomp Ltd., Gradel Lightweight Sàrl, and Lasso Ingenieurgesellschaft – BMW M Visionary Materials Seat
The BMW M Visionary Materials Seat focuses on circular design principles and sustainable materials. The seat features a monomaterial lightweight design that emphasizes using sustainable, renewable materials such as recycled polyester textile, flaxfiber BioComposite, and biogene leather alternatives.
Runner-up: Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada and PPG Industries – EPIC200X Electrocoat
The EPIC200X electrocoat enhances corrosion protection for automotive bodies while significantly reducing environmental impact. At the Toyota facility, the new product and application process enables a total reduction of 3,500 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.
Module Lightweighting
Winner: Syensqo and General Motors – High-Performance Thermoplastic Battery Module Structure
Syensqo and General Motors have collaboratively designed an innovative high-performance thermoplastic battery module structure that delivers a remarkable 37 percent weight reduction and a 25 percent cost savings compared to traditional aluminum.
Runner-up: Toyota Motor Company, US Farathane, and BASF Corporation – Toyota Tacoma Second-Row Composite Seat Structure
The Toyota Tacoma Second Row Comprise Seat Structure features 30 percent less mass than the previous generation of steel seats and 20 percent less mass than the current resin seats seen in the 2022 Toyota Tundra.
Enabling Technology
Winner: CompositeEdge GmbH – Next-Gen Sustainable High-Performance Structures
Aiming to minimize overall material usage, CompositeEdge GmbH utilized natural fiber composites – such as flax and hemp fiber – blended with plastic to form high-performance structures that can support the automated manufacture of car body panels, interior trims, chassis parts, suspension elements, and more without additional adhesives.
Runner-up: Teijin Automotive Technologies – Fully Automated Preforming Process Enabling Complex CFRP Part
Teijin Automotive Technologies’ fully automated preforming process enables the mass production of carbon fiber preforms to be used in automotive components – in this case a vehicle door. The precision of the automated process optimizes the amount of material used and recycles a small amount of offal (waste).
Honorable Mention: Bemis Manufacturing Company and BASF Corporation – Large Hydraulic Tanks for Compact Excavators via BASF’s Ultramid Polyamide
Bemis Manufacturing Company and BASF Corporation developed large hydraulic tanks for compact excavators using BASF’s polyamide, which provided an eco-efficient solution that delivered both environmental savings (reductions in life cycle CO2 emissions) and reduced life cycle cost.
Future of Lightweighting
Winner: WEAV3D, Braskem, and Clemson Composites Center – Cost-Effective Lightweight Vehicle Body Structures
WEAV3D, Braskem, and the Clemson Composites Center developed a composite lattice-reinforced polypropylene sheet tailorable to match the performance of any vehicle body structure on the market. Manufactured with a high rate, highly automated forming cycle that produces more parts using less energy, the new sheet cost 50 percent less and weighed 23 percent less than CFPA6 organosheet (nylon 6) and weighed between 60-70 percent less than steel.
Runner-up: Carsolia Composites Corporation – Composite Suspension Coil Spring by Carsolia
Carsolia Composites Corporation introduced a patent-pending composite coil spring that’s 50 percent lighter than steel. The carbon fiber composite material also has 50 percent less CO2 equivalent per kilogram vs. steel, resulting in a 75 percent overall reduction of CO2 emissions.
Responsible AI
Winner: Dow Inc. – Sustainable SPECFLEXTM Polyurethane Solutions
Dow Inc.’s sustainable SPECFLEXTM polyurethane solutions focus on developing and using cleaner raw materials and unique design principles to optimize performance. Achieving equivalent mechanical and ageing properties compared to traditional formulations, these solutions are significantly safer and more sustainable – with over 50 percent lower total volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 60 percent lower formaldehyde, and 80 percent lower acetaldehyde.
As the world demands safer, more efficient and innovative products and processes, Altair aims to transform design and decision making by applying AI-powered engineering, high-performance computing, and optimization throughout product lifecycles. By helping customers accomplish this, Altair helps to reduce the environmental impact of goods and services across a broad array of industries worldwide. Altair’s software technology and consulting services are by their very essence at the core of designing a healthier and more sustainable future for humanity.
The Enlighten Award winners will be announced in an awards ceremony at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars on August 6.
Partners for the 2024 Enlighten Award include Auto Bild Japan, Autocar Professional, Automobil Industrie, Auto Messe Web, Auto Messe Web Worldwide, Center for Automotive Research, Google Cloud, Korean Society of Automotive Engineers (KSAE), SAE Automotive Engineering, and Tech Briefs.