10/14/2025
Sustainable aluminium solutions for bottom plate construction Speira & KIRCHHOFF Automotive
By using a new, recycling-friendly alloy, it is possible to significantly reduce the carbon footprint while maintaining high-quality components, stable manufacturing processes and full compliance with all industry-specific requirements.
Partnership for tomorrow's mobility
Since 2001, Speira and KIRCHHOFF Automotive have been collaborating closely in the domain of innovative aluminium solutions for the automotive industry. The main focus is on supplying the KIRCHHOFF site in Iserlohn with the SOUL Base 5E140 aluminium solution. The material is used in the bottom plate of electric vehicles and is located directly beneath the battery system. What began as a collaborative partnership is now developing into a showcase project for sustainable mobility.
Aluminium as a key material for electromobility
The demands placed on modern vehicle architectures are increasing, particularly in the field of electromobility. The battery and propulsion systems of electric vehicles weigh up to three times more than those of conventional combustion engines, which has a significant impact on the overall weight of the vehicle. It is therefore particularly important to reduce weight elsewhere. Aluminium offers decisive advantages here: it is lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and fully recyclable – the ideal prerequisites for sustainable vehicle components.
For the production of bottom plates, KIRCHHOFF relies on a time-proven manufacturing concept of forming, punching, and laser welding. The used aluminium alloy 5182 must meet the demands of a good formability and be suitable for laser welding. The material requirements are based on the industry-specific standards for aluminium, passivation and coating that are customary among the leading German automotive manufacturers.
Conversion to a recycling-friendly alloy
With the increasing focus on sustainability, supported by industry-wide initiatives such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and given the exemplary role played by German OEMs, the need to switch to an ecologically optimized alloy became necessary. The goal was to significantly reduce the component's carbon footprint without compromising on quality or process reliability.
The major challenge was that the new alloy had to have the same mechanical properties and processing characteristics as the previous material. The introduction of the new alloy at KIRCHHOFF was based on the premise of keeping production processes unchanged and preventing any manufacturing interruptions.
Quality assurance and implementation
Working closely with our own R&D team in Bonn, Germany, and Technical Customer Support (TCS), we developed an optimized version of the 5182 alloy with a recycled content of at least 75%. Early planning and close coordination with KIRCHHOFF were essential to the successful implementation.
To ensure the quality and reliability of the aluminium, comprehensive tests were carried out. These tests included chemical analyses, mechanical tests, corrosion and joining tests in accordance with current automotive standards. The finished aluminium component was also tested internally and externally, particularly with regard to weld seam quality and surface finish.
The result: Sustainability without compromise for more climate-friendly mobility
The successful implementation of the recycling-friendly aluminium alloy marks a significant milestone in the collaboration between Speira and KIRCHHOFF Automotive. Thanks to this innovation, the carbon footprint of both the material used and the finished bottom plate has been significantly reduced. At the same time, process reliability in production remains fully unaffected – as does the high quality of the component.
The optimized 5182 alloy achieves a CO2 value of 4,88 kg CO2/kg in 2025, which is a significant improvement compared to the previous solution. Speira has also committed to continuously optimizing the carbon footprint of the supplied SOUL Base variant. Further reductions to 3,2 kg CO2/kg aluminium are planned by 2029 – an ambitious goal that paves the way for an even more sustainable supply chain. The close collaboration between Speira and KIRCHHOFF combines sustainability and innovative strength and actively contributes to decarbonization in the automotive sector.
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