Re-made in Ontario: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impact from cold-spray additive remanufacturing in the auto industry in Ontario

Automotive manufacturing is a multi-trillion-dollar industry that demands significant energy, materials, innovation, and safety, making it challenging to reach “real zero” in this sector. Remanufacturing can cut energy and material needs, but little is known about its potential greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. Here, we compare GHG emissions from aluminum automotive control arms produced via conventional manufacturing and cold spray additive remanufacturing (CSARM). We quantify per-part GHG emissions (kgCO_2e/part) in collaboration with lab-scale and industrial CSARM and automotive manufacturers. Canada is a top global producer of aluminum, using Quebec’s predominantly hydro-powered grid. We focus on Ontario, Canada’s auto manufacturing hub. We test key system parameters, like grid intensity, deposition efficiency, powder production processes, facility energy use, and transportation.

Results indicate that choice of manufacturing pathway (conventional vs. CSARM) substantially impacts per-part GHG emissions. CSARM reduces GHG emissions by up to 95% relative to conventional manufacturing. However, the magnitude of this difference depends heavily on process parameters such as grid intensity, deposition efficiency, and aluminum powder production route. Emissions from remanufacturing one control arm range from 0.18-2.3 kg CO_2e, as opposed to 3.1-7.9 kg CO_2e for conventional manufacturing. We find that component-level remanufacturing can support meaningful real zero oriented industrial decarbonization; however, this relies on low-carbon energy, energy efficient facilities, and improvements in upstream material production.

In this presentation, we present these part-level findings and sensitivity analysis. We further apply it to assess the potential for CSARM of aluminum automotive parts to decarbonize automotive manufacturing in Ontario, using optimized reverse logistics to identify used parts and site remanufacturing facilities.