“Car buyers in the U.S. purchased more than 122,000 hybrid- and battery-electric vehicles in March, a record monthly high that roughly quadruples the number sold per month in 2011, according to data from Argonne National Laboratory.

As manufacturers boost production to meet booming demand, they face challenges to reduce the weight of vehicles so they can be electrified but still provide optimal range and power.

Alloy Enterprises, a startup co-founded by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumna Ali Forsyth, has developed a novel solution. The startup is pioneering a method to streamline the production of strong yet lightweight aluminum parts.

“We thought there was a really good opportunity, as we are seeing electrification of not only passenger vehicles, but following behind it heavy-duty trucks, commercial aircraft, buses, construction equipment, mining equipment, and agricultural equipment,” said Forsyth, who…”