Net Zero Emissions by 2050 – it’s a goal for future mobility that can seem distant and daunting. But over the past five years, WorldAutoSteel’s global automotive steel suppliers have conducted extensive research that illuminates a path forward. The Steel E-Motive concept – borne of this research – can be a catalyst for reaching the Net Zero goal.
Urbanization and changing attitudes towards vehicle ownership point to new transport opportunities in megacities worldwide. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – characterized by autonomous, ride-sharing-friendly EVs – can be the comfortable, economical, and sustainable transportation solution of choice thanks to the benefits that modern steels offer, which will foster the higher vehicle occupancy that is critical to Net Zero ambitions.
Here, we break down the many benefits of the Steel E-Motive vehicle.
The Key Steel E-Motive Vehicle Features for Future Mobility
The Steel E-Motive Vehicle features seven key Advanced High-Strength Steel structural innovations to create a safe, economical vehicle.
- A B-Pillarless open-body structure offers excellent comfort, accessibility and easy ingress/egress.
- The Short Front Crash Zone design meets all global high-speed frontal crash requirements.
- The AHSS Extended Front Passenger Protection Zone provides excellent cabin intrusion protection for occupants.
- The Small Offset Crash Glance Beam minimizes the energy pulse into the occupant cabin, reducing the potential for passenger injuries.
- Hex beam energy absorbers provide superior battery protection for both side pole and deformable barrier crashes.
- The Scissor Door with Virtual B-Pillars offers excellent passenger visibility while saving mass and costs.
- The Coverless Battery Carrier Frame concept rewards 37% mass savings over benchmarks and 27% cost reduction; it also affords enhanced battery protection from road debris and other floor impacts.
The Steel E-Motive vehicle is created to meet Level 5 autonomy, meaning it is void of driver interfaces and does not require any human attention. With all of these features and more, the SEM architecture affords a spacious, safe, and comfortable cabin for occupants.
Exceeds Crash Guidelines
The Steel E-Motive vehicle is one of the world’s first autonomous vehicle concepts to validate and report excellent performance measured against the most stringent global crash requirements, which aligns with an IIHS “Good” rating. Modern Advanced High-Strength Steel product and fabrication process innovations enable the vehicle design to exceed these stringent crashworthiness standards while minimizing overall mass and production emissions.
Created to Be Affordable
Considering both production and life cycle costs, Steel E-Motive concepts have low maintenance requirements and are designed to be manufacturable using the world’s global manufacturing infrastructure at costs that support profitable margins, both for the vehicle manufacturer and the mobility service providers. Steel E-Motive is a fully engineered vehicle program that start-up companies can use to significantly reduce their cost and time to market.
Designed with Sustainability in Mind
The viability of any MaaS disrupter is contingent on cost competitiveness versus existing solutions, such as private ownership or taxis.
Moreover, our designs minimize steel thicknesses for lower mass while maximizing material utilization for lower steel production and emissions. Overall, the vehicle design offers the potential for ~86% CO2 emissions reduction when all factors contributing to sustainability are optimized. Autonomy further reduces operating emissions due to drive cycle smoothing.
To achieve our Net Zero future, high-occupancy vehicle usage is crucial and must be appealing for riders and profitable for providers.
Steel E-Motive concepts play a vital role in enabling Future Mobility Solutions THAT ONLY STEEL CAN MAKE REAL. Learn more about the program: https://steelemotive.world/