Research
Research centers
Highly trained employees form the basis for our strong innovation capabilities. Our innovation projects are now being driven forward by more than 3,000 employees in decentralized development centers and departments. The capabilities of the Group's various research and development areas are complementary: Synergies between the individual business areas are identified and exploited in a targeted way. Examples of research centers are listed below.
- Materials research in Duisburg
Materials research at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG is responsible both for the ongoing optimization of existing products and for the development of new steel materials to meet the needs of the market. The aim of the materials developers is to identify future requirements today and expand the product range. Development work encompasses all stages of manufacture from steel production to coating. The methods used range from metallurgical characterization to chemical analysis to highly specialized physical measuring methods for the investigation of substrates and coatings - Uhde Biotechnology
Uhde Biotechnology concentrates on so-called "white biotechnology" processes in which basic chemicals such as lactic acid or succinic acid are obtained not by petrochemical means, but from biomass. With a multi-disciplinary team comprising biologists, biotechnologists, chemists and process engineers, a new process principle has been developed which eliminates waste materials. All process steps through to sample manufacture are tested in the laboratory and demonstrated to potential customers. - ThyssenKrupp Elevator Innovation Center
At the ThyssenKrupp Elevator Innovation Center in Gijón in northern Spain, engineers are developing innovative solutions for escalators, moving walks and passenger boarding bridges. The research and development center is located in the city's former university. Here, the state-of-the-art laboratories and offices offer employees ideal conditions for their daily work. The facility also benefits from its proximity to the technology park, the university in the neighboring town of Oviedo and various ThyssenKrupp Elevator production sites. This extraordinary link between theory and practice and its innovative capacity make the Innovation Center an integral part of the global research and development network of the Elevator Technology business area.
Research collaborations
To develop our product spectrum in line with market and customer requirements, our development teams work closely with our customers. A broad network, based in part on longstanding partnerships with university institutes and non-university research establishments, also incorporates the latest scientific findings. ThyssenKrupp cooperates with numerous renowned universities, colleges and academic institutions in Germany and abroad.
- High-level materials research (ICAMS)
An outstanding example of a long-term strategic partnership is the establishment of the Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Materials Simulation (ICAMS) at the Ruhr University Bochum. The institute began work in June 2008. ICAMS is a unique European development center for new high-tech materials. It is financed in a public-private partnership by leading German materials producers and users, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The lead industrial partner is ThyssenKrupp. The "Advanced Materials Simulation" method used in Bochum is a new key technology in materials development. The aim of ICAMS is to model new materials primarily on the computer and predict their properties through simulation. All the dimensions relevant for materials – from atomic structure to microstructure to macroscopic properties – are included in the multiscale simulation. In conjunction with the ICAMS researchers we will be able to bring even better materials to the market even faster in the future and meet customer requirements even more precisely. - Research partnership with Technische Universität Dresden
To accelerate the development of technologies for the future, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe and Technische Universität Dresden are collaborating in the field of fiber composite materials. An initial project is developing the fundamentals of an ultralight electric vehicle. The aim of the project partners is to achieve acceptable ranges at attractive cost through systematic weight reduction. One focus of the work is on developing a body structure to take into account the new drive and energy storage components. As materials, attention is centered on a mix of metals and carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). Another focus is the development of manufacturing technologies. For CFRP parts in particular, cost-efficient production techniques are to be developed that will make it possible to use the expensive material in high-volume manufacture.
The two-year research and development initiative is manufacturer-independent and is aimed at offering car producers practicable solutions, validated by prototypes, for volume manufacture.
