Sept. 8, 2017—Ganesh Panneer, chairman of the Aluminum Transportation Group (ATG) and vice president and general manager of automotive at Novelis, testified on behalf of the aluminum industry before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during a public hearing held in Washington, D.C., reported Nasdaq.
For the midterm evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles model years 2022-2025, Panneer emphasized the need for regulatory certainty for the automotive industry and its key suppliers, noting: “aluminum companies need predictability and consistency in the regulatory conditions under which they operate.”
Regulatory certainty is essential to the U.S. aluminum industry, which continues to make significant investments to meet growing demand for automotive aluminum. The industry supports more than 713,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the nation and since 2013 has invested more than $2.3 billion in domestic plant expansions to support growing demand in the auto market. Last year, demand for aluminum in automotive applications was greater than at any point in U.S. history.
During the hearing, Panneer also pointed to a recently released survey of automakers conducted by Ducker Worldwide, which concludes that to achieve greater efficiency and lower CO2 emissions automakers must reduce average vehicle weight by 7 percent by 2025. In order to meet this target, automakers will continue to increase the adoption of high-strength, low weight aluminum in new car and truck construction at a faster pace than any time in history.
Panneer added: “Aluminum is a key enabler in helping automakers meet national fuel efficiency and emissions goals.”
He also cited a Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) study that recognizes aluminum’s environmental superiority, noting specifically “aluminum use in new vehicles offers the smallest total carbon footprint among competing materials.”
