Life-cycle analysis shows that an aluminium solution yields both a 20 percent energy and CO2 emissions reduction, compared to the traditional steel structure. 

The sustainability study on automotive materials was recently released at the Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) 2010 World Congress in Detroit. 

The European Aluminium Association writes that the study highlights aluminium's and magnesium's superior life-cycle emissions reduction and energy savings benefits. Initiated to explore the potential for increased use of magnesium in automobiles, the Magnesium Front End Research Development (MFERD) project conducted a full life-cycle assessment study on the impact of steel, magnesium and aluminium front-end parts in an average passenger car.

Regarding the impact of these metal parts on the energy use and emissions of cars, the study found that, when analyzing the full life cycle of the metals, moving up to aluminium yields a 20 percent energy saving compared to using traditional materials. This in turn results in a 20 percent reduction of CO2 emissions compared with steel designs.

Among the options studied, the aluminium design achieved the best lifetime performance for overall energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

The aluminium industry is a strong advocate of full life-cycle analysis (LCA). LCA encompasses fuel economy benefits as well as the emissions related to mining, refining, and recycling. On this basis, every kilo of aluminium replacing steel and/or cast iron saves approximately 20 kilograms of CO2 emissions over the lifetime of the vehicle.