Hydro Supplies Aluminium Sheet to Build Electric Cars in Paris

Hydro, a global supplier of aluminium, has been a major supplier of aluminium body sheet for the Bluecar production in Paris.

Pininfarina, an Italian car design firm, and Bolloré, a French investment and industrial holding group, have launched Bluecar, an electric vehicle, at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. Hydro has manufactured and supplied the sheets from its rolled products facility in Grevenbroich, Germany.

In 2011, approximately 3,000 Bluecar vehicles included side wall panels produced using Hydro’s aluminium . The entire Bluecar fleet is mobilizing Autolib, the new car-sharing scheme, which was introduced in December 2011.

Bolloré have placed an additional order to Hydro for 200 metric tons of rolled aluminium, which will be used to build the second generation Bluecar electric vehicles (EVs) in 2012. The new cars are expected to save over 50 kg of steel usage.

Stéphane Texier, sales manager for Hydro’s Rolled Products, Automotive unit, stated that the company expects to produce a 200 kg body-in-white (BIW) in 2013, which will extend the driving range from 250 to 300 km by eliminating the need for recharging.

The Rolled Vision team of Hydro is developing a special aluminium foil for use in electric car batteries. Hydro is also partnering with Ford, Volkswage and 12 other organizations for “LIGHT e-BODY” project. The project has been initiated to build a light-weight body for EVs.