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Great Minds Think Light: The Altair Enlighten Award

Celebrating the automotive industry's only award dedicated to lightweighting and sustainability

The Altair Enlighten Award honors the greatest sustainability and lightweighting advancements that successfully reduce carbon footprint, mitigate water and energy consumption, and leverage material reuse and recycling efforts. An award that garners interest from industry, engineering, policymakers, educators, students, and the public alike, the Enlighten Award showcases the latest and greatest technology innovations dedicated to sustainability.

This award is presented annually in conjunction with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), and will be presented this year on September 16, 2025.

Our Timeline

FEB 3

Entries Open

JUNE 16

Entries Close

JULY 18

Finalists Announced

SEPT 16

Awards Presented

2025 Award Categories

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Sustainable Product

Recognizes production vehicle (or major system module) embracing emissions reduction, lightweighting, material circularity and safety advances.

Sustainable Process

Recognizes process enabling emission reduction, material reuse/recycling and water conservation advances during manufacturing or engineering phases.

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Sustainable Computing

Recognizes implementing practices and technologies that prioritize precise measurement, optimizing resource and energy efficiency, unlocking new opportunities for low-carbon transition, and building more sustainable and eco-friendly computing.

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Responsible AI

Recognizes Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) deployment throughout the automotive value chain –from design, engineering, operation, production, and in-service.

Module Lightweighting

Recognizes mass reduction of a vehicle module, subsystem, or component.

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Enabling Technology

Recognizes technology advancement that enables vehicle lightweighting including a material, production process, design method, or joining technology.

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Future of Lightweighting

Recognizes process, material or technology that is not yet in production, but has significant potential to advance vehicle lightweighting.

2024 Altair Enlighten Award Winners

Every organization that wins the Enlighten Award joins a distinguished, trailblazing club. Last year's winners - BMW M, Dow Inc., DuPont, WEAVE3D, Toyota, BASF, Syensqo, GM, Teijin Automotive, Bridgestone Americas, CompositeEdge, Bemis, and Carsolia Composites – are among the latest organizations to showcase the future of vehicle lightweighting, sustainability and Responsible Artificial Intelligence.

Click here to download the 2024 Enlighten Award Winners Summary to learn more about these incredible projects.

You can see a complete list of previous winners here.

Interested in the 2025 Altair Enlighten Award?

Request Entry Form

Past Participants

Our Partners

Highlighting the organizations who help make the Enlighten Award possible.

 

Center for Automotive Research

Center for Automotive Research

AWARD PARTNER

Google Cloud

Google Cloud

AWARD SPONSOR


Auto Bild Japan

Auto Bild Japan

MEDIA PARTNER

Autocar Professional

Autocar Professional

MEDIA PARTNER

AUTO MESSE WEB

AUTO MESSE WEB

MEDIA PARTNER

AUTO MESSE WEB Worldwide

AUTO MESSE WEB Worldwide

MEDIA PARTNER

Automobil Industrie

Automobil Industrie

MEDIA PARTNER

Automotive Engineering SAE

Automotive Engineering SAE

MEDIA PARTNER

Korean Society of Automotive Engineers

Korean Society of Automotive Engineers

MEDIA PARTNER

Tech Briefs

Tech Briefs

MEDIA PARTNER

Our 2024 Judges

Judging is conducted by an independent panel of judges led by CAR. CAR chairs the group of recognized industry experts to select each category’s winning entries.

 

Anant Agarwal
Nissan

Dr. Sarma S R Akella
Mahindra & Mahindra

Dr. Cristina Alonso Alija
Formerly Bayer

Niko Barach
Google Cloud

Professor Harvey Bell
University of Michigan

Brian Brothers
Altair

Josh Brugeman
Fresh Coast Climate Solutions

Vanessa Eriksson
Data & AI Expert

Ryan Gehm
SAE International

Sean Lang
Altair

Sanjiv Mantri
Tata Motors

Dr. Deborah Mielewski
Dione Solutions

Dr. Saravanan N
Ashok Leyland

Gina-Marie Oliver
American Chemistry Council

Dr. Sandhya Pande
Philips

Shekhar Paranjape
Eka Mobility

Dr. K. Venkatesh Prasad
Center for Automotive Research

Chris Theodore
Theodore & Associates

Rick Watkins
Altair