Ford Motor Company and Alcoa Inc. have partnered to produce the next-generation aluminum alloys for vehicles, according to a press release issued by Ford.
The new aluminum alloys will be more formable and design friendly.
Ford said in the press release that they will be using Alcoa's Micromill material to make multiple components of its 2016 F-150.
The use of the Micromill material will make Ford the first automaker to use the advanced automotive aluminum commercially.
Ford adds in the press release that Alcoa's Micromill technology produces aluminum that is 40 percent more formable than the current automotive aluminum.
The Micromill technology was first announced in December 2014.
The increased formidability makes it easier to shape the aluminum into intricate forms, like the inside panels of automobiles, according to the press release.
The new technology also provides increased material strength, which allows for the use of thinner aluminum sheet without the worry of compromising dent resistance.
Raj Nair, a vice president at Ford Group and chief technical officer of Global Product Development, said in the press release that the collaboration is supporting the company's "continued drive for innovation."
''Light-weighting enables us to design vehicles with great customer attributes, like the F-150, which can tow more, haul more, accelerate quicker and stop faster than the previous F-150, and is more fuel-efficient than ever," he said.
Nasdaq adds that the collaboration expands Ford's more aggressive embrace of aluminum than its rival automakers.
The automaker's best-selling and most profitable model, the F-150 truck, is already the industry's first mass-market vehicle that has an aluminum body.
Nasdaq adds that the use of aluminum has cut the weight of the truck by 700 pounds compared with prior models.
It has also increased fuel efficiency by 5 percent to 29 percent.
Klaus Kleinfeld, chairman and CEO of Alcoa, also said in the press release that the company's breakthrough Micromill technology offers Ford a "true material edge."
"Alcoa's breakthrough Micromill technology offers highly differentiated automotive material with strength, weight, formability and surface quality combinations previously impossible," he said. "This high-tech aluminum will give Ford a true material edge enabling greater design flexibility and better vehicle performance, making the concept cars of tomorrow a reality."
Ford said in the press release that they will be using the Micromill technology in producing the F-150 in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The company plans to increase the use of the technology on a range of vehicle components and future platforms over the next several years.
The target application for the Micromill technology will include the critical strength structural parts as well as the exterior panels that must meet strict surface quality requirements, according to the press release.
