Technological capabilities
Technological capabilities for the world of tomorrow: Our scientists and development engineers are concentrating on key technologies in order to secure ThyssenKrupp's leading position in high-quality, high value-added products. Information technology in particular is now a vital tool for our scientists and technicians - not just in software and electronics but also in mechanical engineering, process technology, metallurgy and materials science. As a technology and service based Group we develop innovative processes and materials - as a solution in collaboration with our customers - which open the door to new technological solutions.
More than 3,300 scientists, engineers and other specialists in our development centers are currently working on over 2,000 research and development projects, all of them geared to strengthening our core capabilities in products and processes. To stay close to customers, the projects are carried out directly by our operating companies which collaborate in networks on joint projects.
Innovative product developments in the field of materials include a dual-phase steel with anticorrosion primer for car outer panels which offers high formability and strength, thereby contributing to weight reduction, and provides improved corrosion protection thanks to an optimized coating. The improved stainless steel NIROSTA® 4521 is a highly corrosion-resistant material, for example for heating and energy equipment and for car exhaust systems, which offers significant cost advantages over the austenitic CrNiMo steels. With the help of OxyCup® technology, iron-bearing steel mill wastes can be melted down into pig iron, conserving raw material resources, saving landfill space and reducing costs.
With a view to weight reduction a new technology for the low-cost production of tubular parts has been developed: parts made by the T3 profiling technique widen opportunities for lightweighting significantly due to their high area moment of inertia. The newly developed HPPO (Hydrogen Peroxide Propylene Oxide) process allows the co-product-free manufacture of propylene oxide using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant. Propylene oxide is a major industrial chemical with a wide range of uses, one of them in the production of polyurethanes. The process is resource- and environment-friendly as it uses a very selective catalyst as well as eco-friendly H2O2; the only byproduct is water.
In the automotive area, a new support structure for independent suspension systems based on the double wishbone principle has been developed which improves the ride comfort, safety and crash performance of heavy trucks.
The revolutionary passenger transportation system TurboTrack makes it possible to carry more people faster and without waiting times over distances of up to 1.5 km. Featuring a continuously running pallet belt and three speed zones, the product is an attractive proposition for numerous applications, e.g. at airports.
In the area of power plant technology a new melting cyclone is available for burning flue dust from pulverized-coal firing systems. The remaining calorific value of the flue dust can be utilized in this way, the fly ash is converted into an ecologically compatible form and plant efficiency is improved thanks to savings of primary energy.