Altair Invites Submissions For The 2018 Altair Enlighten Award®, Which Will Include The New "Future Of Lightweighting" Category

The automotive industry’s only award dedicated to vehicle lightweighting now acknowledges achievements in the four categories of Full Vehicle, Module, Enabling Technology and The Future of Lightweighting

TROY, Mich. – Jan. 3, 2018 – The 2018 Enlighten Award, presented jointly by Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR) and the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), is now open for submissions. Fostering innovation for lightweighting initiatives, the award recognizes achievements in weight reduction across the automotive industry and is set to be presented on July 30, 2018 at the 53^rd annual CAR Management Briefing Seminars (MBS) held in Traverse City, Michigan.

This year’s Altair Enlighten Award will be presented in four categories: Full Vehicle, Module, Enabling Technology and the newly added category entitled “The Future of Lightweighting”. The Full Vehicle award is given for exceptional achievement in the lightweighting of an entire vehicle, with previous winners including FCA, General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Jaguar Land Rover. The Module award is given for innovation in the lightweighting of a subsystem or component, with previous winners including Toyota, Faurecia, BASF and ContiTech. The Enabling Technology award is reserved for any technology that enables lightweight innovation in a vehicle, such as a material, process or joining technology. New in 2017, the Enabling Technology category was claimed by AP&T in July.

The 2018 award offers a fourth category, The Future of Lightweighting, which opens the playing field up to technology that is not yet commercially available. It is reserved for innovative ideas, processes, materials and technologies that have significant potential to support lightweighting initiatives but have yet to be leveraged on a production vehicle platform. This category is open to incubator and startup companies, small-medium sized businesses, research and development institutions, universities and entrepreneurs alike.

“With each year that we offer the Altair Enlighten Award, the level of technology and innovation that is submitted continues to exceed my expectations,” said Richard Yen, Senior Vice President, Global Automotive and Industry Verticals Team at Altair. “Now entering the award’s 6^th year, we are getting attention from a much broader range of companies. With the addition of the Future of Lightweighting category, we will have an opportunity to highlight innovative new technologies, processes and ideas in the concept phase that would not have been accepted in previous years. We could not be more excited to learn what the automotive industry has been working on this year.”

Interested manufacturers and suppliers can submit an entry, learn about the award criteria or access additional information about the process at www.altairenlighten.com/award. Designs submitted for the full vehicle, module and enabling technology categories must be implemented on a production vehicle produced between August 2015 and August 2018 to allow for sharing with the public, while respecting business and technical confidentiality of all applications. Those who wish to submit a solution for the Future of Lightweighting category should submit the category-specific entry form. Entries must not be in production as of January 2^nd, 2018. The submission deadline for the Enlighten Award is May 25, 2018, with the final judging taking place in June 2018.

“We are pleased to partner with Altair on this award once again this year at MBS”, said Carla Bailo, President & CEO at Center for Automotive Research. “As the future of mobility continues to develop at a rapid pace, the innovations needed in lightweighting are critical to success.  Considering electrification and autonomous, the battery range will have significant impact on the economics for the mobility service providers; hence, there is a great need to optimize vehicle weight and provide innovative solutions.  We are delighted to recognize the key contributors to this success.”

About Altair (Nasdaq: ALTR)

Altair is focused on the development and broad application of simulation technology to synthesize and optimize designs, processes and decisions for improved business performance. With more than 2,000 employees, Altair is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, USA and operates 69 offices throughout 24 countries. Altair serves more than 5,000 customers across broad industry segments. To learn more, please visit www.altair.com.

About CAR

The Center for Automotive Research is a non-profit organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Its mission is to conduct research on significant issues related to the future direction of the global automotive industry, organize and conduct forums of value to the automotive community and foster industry relationships. For more information, visit the CAR website: www.cargroup.org.