A report from Tata Steel — Charging towards a sustainable future — says the rise of electric vehicles will cause the European automotive industry’s demand for steel to grow by 4.2 million tonnes by 2050.

Richard Warren, head of ‘policy and representation’ at UK Steel, said an increase of this magnitude was “in the right ball park”.

He told Professional Engineering that existing estimates are for an increase in demand of about 1.5 million tonnes through to 2030, hitting the 4.2 million tonne level if demand continues to follow a similar trajectory.


Chris Wooffindin, automotive marketing manager at Tata Steel, says that as demand for conventional internal combustion engines diminishes, so will the demand for engineering steels typically required for the manufacture
of ICE components such as connecting rods, cam-shafts and transmission shafts.

He adds that this drop in engineering steel demand will be balanced by a growing demand for new flat steel automotive products — plus electric propulsion systems will need advanced electrical steel grades for electric motors and for energy storage, along with advanced plated steels for battery casings.

With ambitious emissions targets to be met, automotive manufacturers have been focusing on reducing weight (to increase efficiency and bring down emissions), which is one of the reasons for the anticipated increase in the use of aluminium.

However, Tata Steel says aluminium and carbon fibre will not replace steel as has been predicted, because they will remain prohibitively expensive — and they are harder to recycle than steel, which can be melted down and re-used numerous times.

The company suggests that a move towards zero-emissions vehicles could free up car manufacturers to use steel again, and that consumers will begin to focus on the overall environmental impact of their car, not just the tail-pipe emissions.

Others disagree. David Bailey, professor of industry at Aston University, told PE that the weight of vehicles will still be important.

“Batteries are inherently heavy, and companies will look to get weight down in other ways, through the use of aluminium and other composite materials.”