Manel da Silva López
Head of Light Alloys Research Line, Eurecat and Technical Manager of SALEMA project
New Al alloys with lower CRM content
Aluminium is not a new solution in cars. On average there is 15% of all parts made from aluminium in large scale production cars while this number is higher than 50% in the case of electric vehicles. Meanwhile, it is increasing every year because of the feasibility of aluminium. Thus, the European automotive sector needs reliable aluminium sources, that are not dependent on foreign critical raw material imports.
The SALEMA project will produce novel aluminium alloys with minimalised critical raw material content (silicon and magnesium), integrating scrap metal recycling. The suitability and performance of these new aluminium alloys will be demonstrated through four pilot actions and five demonstrators. The integration of scrap metal recycling is essential to create a sustainable circular economy and it is going to serve as a reliable source for high-quality alloys in the future.
16 partners from six European countries have joined forces because we believe, driving the way for a green automotive industry starts with lightweight cars made of aluminium.
Speaker Biography
Dr. Manel Da Silva completed a PhD at the University of Navarra, studying about semi-solid processing of aluminium and magnesium alloys. He is a researcher at ASCAMM (current EURECAT) since 2008 and, currently, manager of the Light Alloys line of the Unit of Metallic and Ceramic Materials of EURECAT. He has more than 18 years of experience working on research projects related to High Pressure Die Casting and processing of aluminium alloys at CEIT, CURAL (University of Quebec), ASCAMM and EURECAT. He has been involved in nine European projects, being the technical director of four of them, in addition to numerous national projects. Author and co-author of 14 publications in SCI journals and over 20 communications in national and international conferences.
His research has been focused on High Pressure Die Casting process, researching on metal treatment techniques and the HPDC process itself, correlating part quality to processing conditions and developing new aluminium alloys by understanding the effect and interaction of minor elements.
