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Our innovations set trends in important industries

Innovationen von thyssenkrupp Steel

Steel is the industrial basis material number one – and a high-tech product. thyssenkrupp Steel alone offers 2,000 alloying concepts and 1,800 different steel grades.

Our ambition is to develop innovative steels and surfaces as well as state-of-the-art production processes in order to set clear trends in the steel industry with a range of processed products and their applications. Another focus is the continual development of existing steel grades and their production processes.

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We offer verified solutions for the steel industry

In the development of materials and surfaces, processes and applications, the steel business of thyssenkrupp draws among other things on its chemical laboratories as well as pilot plants and application technology simulation tools. The full-service package includes process analysis and operational tests to optimize processes, testing and acceptance of products, providing technical support and assisting with the series production of new products.

Materials & Surfaces


Innovative materials

AS Pro – new coating for hot forming

With AS Pro, a new hot forming product, thyssenkrupp Steel is the first steel manufacturer to launch a new, game-changing coating for hot forming ultra-high-strength MBW® steels worldwide – to ensure maximum automobile process and component reliability.

rasselstein® CFPA – a move towards a chromium-free future

thyssenkrupp Rasselstein now offers its customers rasselstein® CFPA, a 100-percent chromium-free passivation on the surface of tinplate. The innovative product ready for series production offers the same functionality as the previous chromium-based passivations.

ZM Ecoprotect® – zinc-magnesium coating for interior and exterior automobile parts

ZM Ecoprotect® is another solutions-oriented material. The novel zinc-magnesium coating is perfectly suited for interior and exterior automobile parts and offers all-round protection for auto bodies. The coating for the external visible components offers particularly high corrosion protection and reduces creep corrosion– in particular on areas of cut edges und scratches, both of which are in danger of rusting to a high degree. Moreover, ZM Ecoprotect® delivers improved formability, reduces adhesive wear in the die and ultimately reduces downtimes for die cleaning.

rasselstein® Solidflex

We have developed rasselstein® Solidflex for the packaging industry. This innovation allows to produce tin can packaging that is lighter, more stable, safer, and more sustainable in the future.

Processing methods


Solutions-oriented processing

smartform® – cold forming of ultra-high-strength steel grades with almost no critical springback

Besides the development of materials, we also develop solutions-oriented production processes for our customers. Our new and innovative production process smartform® allows to produce dimensionally accurate parts, while optimizing costs through a significantly reduced amount of material used and increasing geometric freedom for complex parts.

Tailored Tempering - process for hot forming (partial press hardening)

Our patented Tailored Tempering process for hot forming produces hot forming components combining locally different properties in terms of strength and ductility in one monolithic part – in one single process step (tool) and from a hot forming steel blank.

model and simulation system

On our model and simulation system, with which it is possible to reproduce the hot forming process exactly, our customers can easily test how sheets will behave in their own hot forming processes – without having to stop their own production lines.

flow-forming machine

Silicate deposits on weld seams can be significantly reduced in the future thanks to an improved welding process for metal active gas welding (MAG), that we have developed together with our customer KIRCHHOFF Automotive, and an optimized pickling process.

Solutions-oriented processing

welding process for metal active gas welding (MAG)

Silicate deposits on weld seams can be significantly reduced in the future thanks to an improved welding process for metal active gas welding (MAG), that we have developed together with our customer KIRCHHOFF Automotive, and an optimized pickling process.

Projects


Trends in the steel industry

Our innovative steels and surfaces and state-of-the-art production processes set clear trends in different industries. With tetraflex® , for example, we bring wind turbines to the forefront of technical progress.

With InCar® plus, we offer more than 40 innovative solutions for automotive efficiency and set benchmarks for lightweight construction, electrification and energy efficiency as well as safety and comfort.

selectrify® offers steel solutions for cost-efficient and safe e-mobility. From the vehicle structure through robust and safe battery housings down to electrical steel for highly efficient electric motors - selectrify® demonstrates the enormous potential of innovative steel solutions for electric vehicles.

Cooperations


Cooperations advance solutions

Our work is based on a dense innovation network: The close contact with our customers is ensured by us through the integration of our innovation and sales divisions. Cooperative arrangements with universities, institutes and industrial partners are an essential part of our research strategy. Through our Groupwide integration we make efficient use of various skills, create synergies and strengthen our innovative powers. With the aim to develop tailor-made ideas and innovative steel products for the requirements of the future.

Innovations are best created across technical borders. An intensive exchange between Sales, Development and Production are the prerequisite for successful innovations.

Bernhard Osburg – Chief Executive Officer

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thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse 100

47166 Duisburg, Germany

+49 (0)203 52-0

Innovation department: Setting the pace with new ideas

Niels Lohmeyer and Stefan Eiden

To implement Strategy 20-30, the Innovation department is driving product, service and application development at thyssenkrupp Steel. Solutions that create added value for customers not only today, but also tomorrow.

Innovation at thyssenkrupp Steel is multifaceted. The department of the same name brings together Product Development, Application Technology and the two service departments of Chemical and Materials Testing, all under one roof. In addition, there is another team for intellectual property. Because of their enormous strategic importance for the transformation, the ideas, products and services developed here will require decisions from the top tier of management – and consequently, the department has been organizationally assigned to CEO Bernhard Osburg's area of responsibility of since the beginning of 2023. The department is headed by Niels Lohmeyer and comprises around 650 employees in total in 20 highly specialized teams. Its aim is, above all, to drive forward the customer-oriented development of high-quality flat steel products.

Identifying trends quickly

Niels Lohmeyer is concerned with two aspects with two different time tracks. On the one hand, a task that must be carried out in the here and now: providing the company's own Sales department with the developments that are immediately required by customers. On the other hand, a task with a view to the future, namely anticipating new market needs and thinking ahead to appropriate solutions: for example, the bodies of electric cars or autonomous driving. Niels Lohmeyer is convinced that this is not only a genuine necessity but also a real opportunity: "As a German steelmaker, we are never going to be the cost leader in global terms. That explains why it is important for us to generate momentum with new ideas, applications and products. Ideally, we will be the first to identify trends and quicker on the draw than others when it comes to innovations." To ensure it has the right products in its portfolio not just today, but also in 15 years' time, thyssenkrupp Steel is focusing more than ever on networking. This includes not only our own internal customers at the distribution companies but also other players in the supply chain, such as companies from the chemical industry or paint production. In addition, organizations such as steel institutes, research centers and universities are welcome partners.

In demand: efficiency and sustainability

Efficiency and sustainability are driving development right across the industry: "We are all part of the transformation and we need to find carbon-neutral solutions. The recent extreme hikes in cost for energy and raw materials are making for a particular sense of urgency. Here, we want to work with our customers and partners quickly to develop the relevant products and processes so we can jointly benefit from the changes," explains Stefan Eiden, head of Application Technology at thyssenkrupp Steel. Whether it's about a product, service or any other topic: development work at thyssenkrupp Steel always takes a holistic approach. For example, expertise in materials and processing goes hand in hand with conceptual knowledge and scientific methodology. "We support our customers' demands for solutions that save resources, involving alternative concepts in combination with our materials and processing expertise. Reporting cost, weight and LCA ratings helps customers in all end-user industries to make informed decisions," says Stefan Eiden. This is also made apparent through the close integration of product development and application technology at the Duisburg and Dortmund locations. There are more than 150 pilot and test facilities – including a wide variety of presses and welding systems as well as a roll forming and flow-forming machine – enabling tests to be carried out in advance to ensure that the materials developed will perform as desired later at the customer's plant.

Answers to complex questions

The experts from thyssenkrupp Steel are also involved in conceptual work. For example, they are looking into the economic and technical advantages of lightweight steel solutions. Electric mobility presents major opportunities for thyssenkrupp Steel with additional material requirements of 200 to 250 kilograms per vehicle. Eiden: "That explains why we have developed body concepts with the selectrify® reference structure. We recognized at a very early stage what advantages that steel would bring for battery housings in terms of cost, LCA and fire protection, for example. In our new benchmark area, for example, we have analyzed electric motors, and we can now also use a new laser cutting machine to provide the thinnest possible electrical steel strips for electric motor prototype studies." When it comes to collaboration, Niels Lohmeyer observes an interesting trend: "More and more frequently, these intensive collaborations are giving rise to genuine development partnerships with equipment builders and customers. They start off with research and then move on to customized product and process development, followed by support in series production. We are delighted about this and it makes us very optimistic about the future."

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