Altair Announces Winners of 8th Annual Altair Enlighten Awards

Industry’s only award dedicated to vehicle lightweighting acknowledges greatest advancements around the globe

TROY, Mich., Aug. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR), a global technology company providing solutions in product development, high-performance computing (HPC), and data analytics, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Altair Enlighten Awards. Presented jointly with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), the 8^th Annual Enlighten Awards acknowledge the world’s best initiatives to reduce vehicle weight and meet emissions targets, inspiring breakthrough advancements that push the industry towards a more sustainable future.

“As we sit at the crossroads of science, engineering, art, and design, creating a more sustainable future is the essence of Altair as we are a pioneer in lightweighting technologies and methodologies,” said James Scapa, founder and chief executive officer of Altair. “I am proud to see that the Altair Enlighten Awards have become a sought-after recognition that acknowledges the world’s greatest automotive lightweighting innovations, while inspiring interest from industries, engineers, policymakers, educators, students, and the public.”

Presented in four categories, the Enlighten Awards recognize commercial automotive lightweighting achievements and technologies. The 2020 winners include:

• Full Vehicle winner: Harley Davidson Motor Company utilized electrification to improve energy capacity of its Livewire electric motorcycle by 90 percent, while increasing the ratio of energy capacity to vehicle mass by 60 percent. In addition to further improvements, this initiative established mass and stiffness design and optimization practices for future motorcycle programs.
  • Runner-up: Nissan for its new Sentra 2020 platform, designed to dramatically improve safety and dynamic performance without increasing weight by using simulation to place the right materials in the right locations.
     
• Module winner: An industry first, Toyota created a free standing two occupant injection molded back-frame with no molded reinforcement for the 2021 Sienna. It consolidated 15 components to one part with one injection, driving down costs by 15 percent, reducing mass by 30 percent and improving safety performance by two times.
  • Runner-up: ZF created the first-to-market electric park brake (EPB) with more than 75 million vehicles fitted with EPB for world roadways. The Heavy Duty EPB offers a weight savings of 25 pounds or more for large trucks and SUVs when compared to conventional drum-in-hat park brakes.