The 2016 Ford F-150 will have aluminum parts from supplier Alcoa manufactured in a revolutionary way that makes them stronger, lighter, easier to work with and in greater abundance, which should improve supply and cost.

The secret: Alcoa's new micromill that manufactures a coil of an improved aluminum alloy in 20 minutes compared with 20 days using conventional processes. And it can be done in a plant that is a quarter of the size.

"That's how disruptive and revolutionary it is," said Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld who was in Dearborn on Monday.

The ability to supply aluminum exponentially faster eases fears of a shortage as the auto industry increasingly turns to the material to reduce the weight of vehicles, which in turn makes them more fuel efficient as automakers work to meet new efficiency standards in 2025.

To bring this to fruition, Ford and Alcoa formed a partnership. Alcoa built an experimental micromill in San Antonio to produce the aluminum, and Ford gave it a rigorous test subject: the high-volume 2016 F-150 pickup.

The two companies have worked on this for almost three years and Ford has exclusive North American rights for an undisclosed number of years. The technology, which is exclusive and has 130 patents, will be licensed outside the U.S.

For the 2016 F-150, three tailgate reinforcement parts will be made with aluminum from the new process, said Raj Nair, Ford's head of global product development. They will go into production this fall.

The idea is to increasingly build traditionally steel parts out of aluminum, Nair said. Next year, the truck will also have box reinforcements, floor pan tunnels and wheelhouse parts of aluminum instead of steel.

Kleinfeld said this second-generation aluminum alloy is 40% stronger and 30% lighter than high-strength steel, which means automakers can use thinner gauges.

It is also twice as malleable as steel, allowing Ford to use it to make more complex parts such as inner door panels, Nair said. The alloy can form deeper curves, for example. And multiple parts can be combined into a single component, which will reduce assembly costs by 4%-8%, Kleinfeld said.

The traditional way to make aluminum is to melt the metal, form ingots and roll them many times so they can be stretched into coils.

The micromill does not bother with ingots at all. The molten metal is poured in, supercooled fast, and comes out in rolls 20 minutes later, ready for use.

Kleinfeld said the micromill in Texas is an experimental one and Alcoa is looking at building one for commercial use. He would not say where it would be located.

Pete Friedman, Ford global manager of structures and stamping research, said logistically the automaker would prefer to see it in the Midwest where Ford has much of its vehicle assembly.

Nair would not say what future vehicles would use the new aluminum alloys. But in an interview with the Detroit Free Press in January, Alcoa officials said they would be supplying aluminum for Ford's 2016 SuperDuty pickups, which are switching to an aluminum body. They did not specify which alloys would be used.

Said Kleinfeld, "After working on the F-150 it was clear we would not stop there."