Bayer MaterialScience, Pittsburgh, announced this morning that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Los Angeles-based Velozzi, developer of a plug-in flex-fuel hybrid electric crossover vehicle.  The company also plans to develop new and more efficient, environmentally friendly methods to mass produce vehicles using modularity and lightweight materials.

Collectively, BMS and Roberto Velozzi, chief executive of the company, plan to participate in the Progressive Automotive X Prize (AXP) competition and work together to take the Velozzi from a concept car to a mass produced super-efficient vehicle.  

“BMS is committed to the AEV market and has a deep understanding of the role innovative materials play from concept through commercialization,” said David Loren, market lead for the PCS Group at BMS.  “We are actively seeking collaborations with suppliers and OEMs to help them navigate through the complex AEV challenges such as vehicle weight and manufacturability.”  

Loren emphasizes that, in addition to the materials used, another key differentiator between AEVs and traditional automobiles is the innovative manner in which these materials are incorporated into the vehicles themselves to achieve the unique demands of this market.  “Any way you look at it,” he says, “the AEV market represents a paradigm shift that impacts all aspects of vehicle design and production.  As a leader in innovation and high-tech materials, BMS is well positioned to work with OEMs to ‘reinvent’ the traditional approach and, in turn, pave the way for broad AEV availability and acceptance.”