What is the climate impact of a press hardening line over its entire life cycle? How does a vehicle using hot stamping parts affect the climate? This is information that many car manufacturers need to know, and AP&T can now provide it.
In cooperation with the Swedish company RISE, AP&T carried out a comprehensive analysis of the performance of a typical press hardening line over the entire life cycle: assuming a useful life of 20 years, from iron ore mining to the end of life**, including ongoing maintenance and retrofitting of the equipment, and climate impact at all stages.
In addition, they analyzed how the final product, passenger cars, which uses hot-stamped parts, affects the overall carbon footprint.
Christer B. Ckdahl, CTO at AP&t, said: "Life cycle analysis provides a stable basis for sustainability efforts, but also makes it easier for us to consider priority measures. In addition, we can provide our customers with third-party audited factual data to help calculate and report the overall climate impact of their products so that customers can make the right decisions for the future. ”
Multiple factors influencing results.
There are a number of parameters that affect the climate of a press hardening line over its lifetime, and these parameters vary from case to case. Overall, the AP&T analysis shows that the vast majority of carbon emissions are related to energy consumption during the operation phase of the equipment. But much depends on the mix of energy used to run the equipment: hydropower and wind have a small impact on the climate, while fossil fuels such as coal, oil and fossil gas produce significant carbon emissions.
Depending on where it is used, it will also bring different results. Sweden's energy mix, for example, has only one-fifth of the UK's climate impact. But regardless of where it is used, it is important to optimize energy use and choose energy-efficient alternatives. In the case of the AP&T servohydraulic press, for example, it is 70 percent more energy efficient than conventional hydraulic presses. ”
An interesting question is what the impact of the materials used in the production of cars on the climate over their life cycle is taken as a factor. Steelmaking process or part manufacturing, which is better: hot stamping parts or cold stamped high-strength steel parts?
B ckdahl explains: "Since hot stamping increases the strength of the steel, less material is required per part. This reduces the weight of the car, making it lighter than when cold stamped steel is used. This has a positive impact on the energy consumption and climate impact of the car, largely compensating for the carbon emissions generated by the production of materials and the manufacture of components. ”
Many car manufacturers are currently asking about the type of information that life cycle analysis can provide, and AP&T will be conducting more analyses for specific production lines and products in the future to meet customer needs.
"Many customers will benefit from life cycle analysis, and we will be launching this service offer," said BCKDAHL. ”
In addition, AP&T recently partnered with RISE to carry out a corresponding life cycle analysis of a high-strength aluminum hot hardening line.
This article**From the official website of ap&t China, please visit the official website for more details**.