Alcoa and China’s CIMC Vehicles, a specialty truck manufacturer, have formed a strategic partnership to design and develop an energy-efficient, aluminum fuel-tanker trailer for the Asian market. Alcoa will apply its design, engineering and manufacturing expertise with CIMC Shandong’s fabrication knowledge to produce the lightweight, environmentally friendly tanker trailer. The new aluminum-intensive fuel-tanker trailer will roll on Alcoa Dura-Bright forged-aluminum wheels sourced from Alcoa’s Köfém plant in Hungary. The Alcoa Bohai plant in Qinhuangdao, China, will supply the aluminum sheet, and Alcoa Fastening Systems in Jiangsu, China, will provide fasteners.

The combination of lightweight aluminum production and lower fuel costs of the tank trailer result in a total CO2 savings of 90 tons per trailer over the life span of each vehicle. The first prototype is expected to be road tested in Jinan City and Beijing in October 2009.