The today and future potential of magnesium in the automotive industry

The raw material and its transformation cost (the die casting process) together with important corrosion issues convinced the automotive industries to reduce dramatically the use of the magnesium alloys in the mid of the 70's. The energy shortages at the end of the 70's focused again car designers on "light metals" and the magnesium was one of the most attractive. The raw material suppliers developed high purity alloys (low iron, nickel and copper content) to overcome the corrosion issues. At the same time the die casters improved significantly the transformation process able to guarantee cost competitive components.The market today is growing in excess of 16% per year: this interesting datum is linked to the high technological level reached in the die casting process capable to produce structural components to substitute alternative materials (i.e. steel assemblies).The weight saving achievable is around the 40% with the same component's performances. Due to these interesting features and to the possibility to easily recycle it, Magnesium will play an important role in the automotive industry in the years 2000