LIGHTWEIGHTING
STAINLESS STEEL SUPERIORITY
Circle Green stainless steel achieved 95% recycled material content last year
Stainless steel has been the old faithful of the automotive industry for decades. Continuous reinvention has kept the material relevant during the rise of electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, offering crucial lightweighting and sustainability advantages
F
The company’s stainless steel enables the design of next generation vehicles using lightweight yet strong materials
rom the 1936 Ford Deluxe Tudor sedan to the 1967 Lincoln Continental, stainless steel has long been the
material of choice for iconic car models the world over. Since the material’s birth in 1912 with the patent V2A, stainless steels have progressed to meet the evolving demands of the automotive sector, from corrosion and thermal resistance in the 1900s, to the formability of complex geometries at the turn of the millennium. Now, in 2024, the material is being optimised to improve crash safety, lightweighting and environmental sustainability within today’s vehicles.
DESIRABLE PROPERTIES Gone are the days when stainless steel was pigeon-holed as being too heavy and cost-intensive for automotive manufacturing. Diverse grades and advanced production techniques have
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enabled the material to evolve to suit the requirements of current vehicle applications, from car bodies and structural components to intricate design elements. Thanks to its unique durability,
low maintenance and resistance to corrosion, stainless steel is a strong and economically sustainable material for a wide range of demanding applications, whether for electric, hydrogen or combustion engine vehicles. This has been made possible by redefined stainless steels from the likes of Outokumpu, which offer automotive manufacturers high crash energy absorption, thermal and corrosion resistance and formability, alongside a combination of strength and reduced weight. “We are producing stainless steels
with a chromium content of at least 10.5%, which delivers a chromium oxidised layer on the surface to
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