This pivotal event brings together industry leaders, engineers, and innovators to explore the transformative role of advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) in the automotive sector. As we move towards a future where efficiency, sustainability, and safety are paramount, the automotive industry continuously seeks materials to meet these demands.

Our conference begins with a critical examination of how AHSS is driving innovation in vehicle design, balancing the need for lightweight structures with the uncompromising demand for safety. We will delve into a series of case studies and discussions, highlighting the strategies and technological advancements that are making AHSS an integral part of modern automotive engineering.We look forward to benchmarking and learning from the automotive OEMs on the core subjects of multi-material selection and utilization. Evaluation of the design advantages of alternate lightweight materials as a solution to escalating costs will be at the center of the conference as leading experts from the global automotive industry share their strategies, challenges, and solutions.  

This industry-leading Lightweight will analyse how OEMs are implementing new design strategies, ensuring sustainability and recyclability for lightweight vehicles in a cost-effective manner.

We will also explore material joining with a focus on detailed examples, such as material joining to develop new adhesives, primer and surface pre-treatments for automotives. And some hyper-specific contexts will also be explored, for example material joining as a means of balancing durability, thermal conductivity and functional form in electric vehicle batteries. Thus, this event will give a very balanced and thorough understanding of material joining across all levels.

The agenda explores potential issues and gaps in the understanding of material joining. For example, a topic that will be discussed is testing and modeling for composite to metal fatigue. This event will address the lack of knowledge on how composite metal fatigue interacts with corrosive environments and critical validation cycles that need to be put into place to address this.

The event draws upon industry case studies, as well as non-industry-specific examples to encourage discussion around potentially less obvious automotive solutions. This will be achieved by observing how some multi-material combinations and joining technologies in industries such as the military and aerospace industries, can also support the automotive industry.