Energy Features of Magnesium Production and Use in Automobiles

Magnesium is the most energy efficient light weight metal available to the automotive engineer. Die cast magnesium automotive parts contain less primary production energy, require less energy to fabricate, and conserve more fuel over the service life of the vehicle than identical aluminum parts. The result is a 9 percent net energy return advantage over aluminum, its nearest light weight metallic competitor. This overall advantage is expected to improve and add to the incentive to expand the automotive usage of magnesium as energy costs continue to escalate.