Innovations
Our scientists and engineers are always a few steps ahead of the market on the road to the future. With their innovations, they constantly improve our products and processes, developing new solutions to the problems of our customers. Never being satisfied with past accomplishments is part of their job. Behind every idea lies a clever mind helping make the new possible and the existing even better.
Major innovation efforts
The enormous efforts which ThyssenKrupp undertakes to continually innovate its products and processes resulted in an increase in expenditure for research and development. In the fiscal year 2007/2008, total innovation spending came to €841 million, an increase of 3% compared with the prior year. Of this, we spent €316 million on basic research and development including capitalized development costs. The costs of customer-related development work amounted to €224 million, and €301 million was spent on technical quality assurance.
| 2003/2004 | 2004/2005 | 2005/2006 | 2006/2007 | 2007/2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic research and development | 191 | 186 | 241 | 257 | 316 | |||||
| Customer-related development * | 182 | 266 | 230 | 294 | 224 | |||||
| Technical quality assurance | 275 | 281 | 272 | 264 | 301 | |||||
| Total | 648 | 733 | 743 | 815 | 841 |
Employees, customers and cooperation partners – Basis for successful innovations
Highly trained employees form the basis for our strong innovation capabilities. This is why we recruited numerous new and highly trained experts, particularly from the area of science and engineering, in the past fiscal year. Our innovation projects are now being driven forward by 3,500 employees in 85 development centers and departments; the figure in the prior year was around 3,300. The capabilities of the Group's different research and development areas are complementary: Synergies between the individual segments are identified and exploited in a targeted way. ThyssenKrupp AG made a large R&D budget available for such cross-segment research and development projects in 2007/2008, creating an additional incentive to exploit synergistic opportunities and promote strategic new developments. We initiated numerous new development projects in this way in the past fiscal year.
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. In 2008, for example, we launched a strategic partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA, which is highly regarded for its high-level research. Increasingly, we are focusing on long-term strategic partnerships in our links with the academic world.
Engaged in advanced materials research
One current 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" 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 mulitscale 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.
Innovative work in the segments
The Group's five segments are important centers of our extensive research and development efforts. ThyssenKrupp has outstanding capabilities in particular in the areas of materials and surfaces, lightweight construction, automotive supply, plant construction, marine systems, elevators and services. Numerous innovations also promote the efficient use of resources and climate protection.
InCar: Solutions pool for the auto industry
The InCar project, linking the automotive capabilities of the Steel and Technologies segments, represents a new stage in our research and development activities for innovations in auto manufacturing. Under this project, customer workshops were held in the reporting year with vehicle developers and engineers from the auto industry in order to coordinate technical developments. Another focus was on the design and validation of modular solutions such as an innovative twist beam axle and a roof module made from lightweight sheet.
The project is conceived as a solution and ideas pool for the body, powertrain and chassis areas. Newly developed solutions are assessed and validated in terms of structural mechanics and manufacturability. One of the tools used in this is a manufacturer-independent benchmark structure representing the latest state of the art. All innovations are manufactured and tested as prototypes under realistic production conditions.
Steel: Improvements to materials for the auto industry
In response to growing demand from auto manufacturers for high-strength and ultrahigh-strength steels, the Steel segment developed the new dual-phase steel DP-K 60/98. This material displays a strength of 980 megapascals, twice as high as the steels used to date. Following the successful completion of laboratory development, the material is now being tested in operating trials.
Because low weight and greater safety are becoming more and more important, auto manufacturers are increasingly turning to the technology of hot stamping. Hot-stamped parts made from alloyed steel sheet can achieve significantly higher strength levels then cold-stamped components made from high-strength materials. Following the successful introduction of the first hot-stamped tailored blanks, ThyssenKrupp Steel is currently working to develop the materials as well as the process technology further. To improve the ratio of strength to formability in hot-stamped parts, new dies are necessary in which the material cools at different rates in different places. This makes it possible to produce tailored parts which display specified strength and elongation properties in precisely defined areas.
Further quality improvements in hot-dip galvanized multiphase steels
An innovative process for the hot-dip galvanizing of multiphase steels was developed in close cooperation between developers and production experts at our DOC® surface engineering center. The DOC® is one of the world's most advanced development centers for steel surfaces. The so-called oxidation/reduction technology creates the conditions for applying high-quality coatings to the surfaces of high-strength multiphase steels in a continuous coil coating process. Other steel materials can also be coated with zinc using this technology.
The multiphase steels coated by the new process have major market potential in lowering automobile weight and reducing CO2 emissions. The newly developed process won third prize in this year's ThyssenKrupp Innovation Contest.
Materials know-how and forming expertise
A newly developed front underride guard for trucks is over 40% lighter and at the same time safer than systems commonly used so far. The core components of the Front Underride Protection System are a bumper made from a boron-alloyed heat-treatable steel and two crash boxes mounted behind the bumper. The high-strength heat-treatable steel has a yield strength of 1,600 megapascals, while the dual-phase steel for the crash boxes displays high residual elongation allowing impact energy to be absorbed in a controlled way.
Low-noise electrical steel for quieter transformers
A new material designed to reduce the typical humming noise generated by transformers has come through initial operating tests successfully. The cores of transformers consist of a series of laminations made from grain-oriented electrical steel, whose special electromagnetic properties allow efficiencies of around 99%. When alternating current is applied, these laminations start to vibrate and cause noise. Transformers made with our low-noise material operate much more quietly.
Successful combination of carbon and stainless steel
Crash safety and weight reduction are at the center of a cross-segment project by Steel and Stainless. Our developers have succeeded in combining stainless steel and carbon steel and exploiting the benefits of both in one tailored strip. Austenitic stainless steels can be hardened to strength levels of over 1,400 megapascals by cold rolling and therefore offer major potential for weight reduction. To make them more cost-efficient, they are now being combined with a less-expensive high-strength dual-phase steel. Products like these are laser-welded together from steels of different grade, thickness and coating to produce tailored strips, blanks or tubes whose structure exactly matches the stresses prevailing in the finished part.
Stainless: Cost-effective material alternatives with reduced nickel contents
Increasing raw material costs, higher customer requirements and extended applications are among the challenges facing the Stainless segment. Various material innovations in the areas of stainless steel, nickel and titanium alloys are providing successful solutions and strengthening our position in the global marketplace. Stainless is exploring new paths to increase the performance potential of the materials and at the same time optimize their use. The increasing importance of this was reflected at ThyssenKrupp Nirosta by the establishment of a new executive board directorate for strategic product development which coordinates these activities across the segment.
To make us less dependent on the nickel price and allow us to offer a broader range of low-cost materials, we have developed various materials which are either nickel-free or have a much smaller nickel content.
In times of high nickel prices, Nirosta 1.4640 is a low-cost alternative to the standard material 1.4301 offering equally good properties in terms of corrosion resistance, formability, weldability and aesthetics. Thanks to a new combination of copper, nitrogen and manganese as alloying additions, the developers were able to reduce the nickel content of the stainless steel without impairing material properties. The similarity of properties to material 1.4301 means that customers – applications lie in the domestic appliance, kitchen equipment and capital goods industries – can continue using the same processing technologies when they change to the new material. The team responsible for this development won second prize in the 2008 Innovation Contest.
That existing materials can find new applications through modification was proved by ThyssenKrupp Nirosta with the nickel-free stainless steel 1.4521. Up to now, expensive nickel-containing steels have been used for drinking water pipes. Working closely with customers, our specialists improved this steel such that it can be readily formed and does not corrode even under unfavorable conditions. The material is already being successfully used for drinking water pipes in Switzerland and has now also been approved for use in Germany. At the same time we have optimized the manufacturing technology in order to handle the increasing volume of orders.
Another new material with reduced nickel content is the austenitic stainless steel Nirosta 1.4618, whose properties make it particularly suitable for domestic appliances, commercial kitchens, sinks and interior architecture. Nirosta 1.4607, a material designed especially for auto exhaust systems, is completely nickel- and molybdenum-free. It is very resistant to high temperatures and is therefore suitable for new generations of engines in which it minimizes NOX emissions.
New high-performance nickel and titanium alloys contribute to climate protection
Innovations in materials increasingly hold the key to efficient climate protection and resource conservation. New generations of fossil-fired steam power plants are being introduced which can achieve higher efficiencies as a result of higher temperatures and pressures of the steam. Together with power plant operators and manufacturers of power plant boilers we have developed a material – Nicrofer 5520 Co B – which meets the increased thermal and corrosive requirements of these power plants; suitability for operating temperatures of 700°C has already being successfully demonstrated. Our engineers are now working on using this alloy for the manufacture of longitudinal-welded thickwall pipes and large forgings.
The use of new nickel alloys is also paying dividends in wind turbines. Turbines with so-called high-temperature superconductors operate with much higher efficiency than conventional systems. Together with a development partner, ThyssenKrupp VDM has developed a production route for nickel W14, which can be used in superconductors, e.g. in generators, and provides mechanical stability and long service life. The findings gained in the laboratory were successfully transferred to large-scale production; a patent has already been filed. This development opens up a new opportunity to participate in the growth of the wind power market.
Our scientists and technicians have made further progress in developing an existing material for use in fuel cells. The new material Crofer 22 H – developed jointly with the Jülich Research Center – was produced for the first time on a commercial scale. Crofer 22 H is a material with much greater elevated-temperature strength than the existing material. This is achieved by additions of niobium, tungsten and silicon. This new material can be used in the next generation of high-temperature fuel cells.
The titanium alloy Ti-X containing the relatively inexpensive main constituents of iron and silicon was developed especially for use in auto exhaust systems. In contrast to pure titanium, which cannot be used at high temperatures, the new material is a high-temperature alloy which is oxidation-resistant and can be used at temperatures up to 750°C. In order to enable the material to be used at even higher temperatures up to 1,000°C, we developed a special protective coating in the form of a thin aluminum cladding applied to the alloy. The advantage of volume use of this in-development material in auto manufacturing lies in its significantly lower weight which reduces CO2 emissions in vehicle operation.
Efficient and cost-effective products for the aerospace industry
Aluminum seat rails in aircraft are exposed to particularly heavy wear. In addition, the mechanically stressed rails are subject to corrosion damage. The solution: a low-weight composite material consisting of titanium and aluminum developed by our engineers in a cross-segment project. The DAVEX roll-joining technology developed by ThyssenKrupp allows the manufacture of material combinations which cannot be produced conventionally or only at very high cost. In the new seat rails made in this way, only those parts which are directly exposed to corrosion are made from the extremely resistant titanium.
Technologies: Eco-friendly plant construction
Efficiency and environmental friendliness are key criteria in new and improved products in the various areas of our plant construction activities, part of our Technologies segment.
In view of the current world market situation, the supply situation for fossil fuels and the efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in energy generation, more and more customers are expressing an interest in plants which gasify coal, produce petroleum coke from refinery residues or utilize biomass. We have many years of experience in gasification and coal chemistry and can offer numerous technologies for this such as the industrially proven PRENFLOTM process. This process has now been further improved with the newly developed "Direct Quench" technology: The raw gas is saturated for the subsequent conversion of the carbon monoxide by the injection of water (quenching). This offers significant advantages in process control in many applications; in addition the capital costs are lower.
Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable plastic whose properties are comparable with those of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS). It is mainly used for packaging, bottles and fibers. The starting material is lactic acid which is recovered from the starch of renewable raw materials. Compared with plastics made from petrochemical feedstocks, the production of each kilogram of this biodegradable plastic saves more than 20 megajoules of energy; at the same time it eliminates over 1 kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases. This plastic is therefore a sustainable alternative to other plastics made from petrochemicals.
Our process engineers have developed a new low-cost plant technology for polylactic acid production. Based on the findings from the operation of a company-owned pilot plant they have already designed a cost-efficient large-scale plant. A first large-scale commercial plant is to be built and operated on this basis for a customer in Guben, Germany.
In the past fiscal year we succeeded in implementing various new developments for the lime industry. With the aim of making existing lime burning systems more cost-efficient and environmentally compatible, our engineering specialists added a new modular shaft heat exchanger to a rotary kiln. Compared with the original kiln, the heat exchanger significantly reduces energy requirements and hence also fuel-related CO2 emissions.
Innovative equipment for oil sands mining
The development and construction of a fully mobile crusher plant has been completed. The new crusher plant travels on crawlers; the material it produces is then carried away on conveyor belts, eliminating the huge trucks previously used to transport material in large open-pit mines. A first plant of this type capable of handling 3,500 tons per hour has been proving its capabilities under extreme production conditions in a Chinese coal mine since 2007. The elimination of truck haulage reduces operating costs by around a third. At the same time, CO2 emissions are substantially lowered, contributing to climate protection. Market potential for this fully mobile crusher plant exists in open-pit mines throughout the world wherever large masses have to be crushed and transported, e.g. in oil sands mining in Canada. The development of a fully mobile crusher was honored with first prize in this year's ThyssenKrupp Innovation Contest. Our developers are currently working on more powerful plants capable of handling the entire process chain in oil sands mining.
Innovative propulsion technologies at Marine Systems
Shipbuilding engineers and technicians at our shipyards are working to improve fuel cell technology and the various systems for producing the hydrogen required on board underwater vehicles. They are looking into ways to produce it from both methanol and diesel fuel. As this technology is also important for other areas of the Group, our researchers are working together across segment boundaries. We have also made further progress in battery technology for submarine use. Successful tests using lithium polymer batteries show them to be promising for underwater travel. Compared with fuel cells, which allow long underwater operations at relatively low speeds, lithium polymer batteries can provide higher power for short periods, making this battery technology the ideal complement to fuel cell technology.
Innovations for fuel-saving automobiles
Increasing calls by car buyers for reduced fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions have significantly increased the pressure on the auto industry. Systematic weight reduction is required, as are improvements in the engine and powertrain areas. Our development engineers have therefore set themselves the goal of providing a tailored range of weight-reduction solutions for all chassis components. They include the TTS® spring, which has been significantly improved in terms of strength and toughness by thermomechanical forming, a new tubular stabilizer, the weight-optimized lightweight McPherson strut and various add-on parts. In this way functions have been improved and weight significantly reduced. Taking into account all the savings made possible by intelligent weight reduction using high-strength steels for chassis components, the chassis of a midsize car could weigh up to 25% less in the future.
The environment also benefits from our newly developed bushing-less connecting rod, which permits further progress in truck engines. The high peak pressures occurring in modern engines place great demands on engine components. Innovative piston pins, a special coating and laser texturing of the steel surface of the connecting rod bore form the basis for the new bushing-less connecting rod which meets these mechanical requirements. The surface of the connecting rod bore is laser machined for optimum friction, which reduces the fuel consumption of the engine, causes fewer CO2 emissions and reduces wear.
Elevator: New era in elevator technology
Our Elevator segment launched a new era in elevator technology with the TWIN elevator. More and more building owners and architects are turning to the innovative concept for passenger transportation in tall buildings in which two cabs travel independently of one another in the same shaft. This permits optimum capacity utilization: In existing buildings, transportation capacity is significantly increased with the same number of shafts. In the new installations area, one third of shafts can be eliminated and useful space increased compared with conventional elevators – an increasingly important argument against the background of high rents. A single installation can provide a noticeable gain in efficiency and convenience in tall buildings.
Thanks to this innovative technology, which is offered exclusively by Elevator, we have won several new contracts in both established and new markets. For example, in the past fiscal year the first TWIN installation in the UK began operation in the building of the Financial Services Authority in London. Further major orders were received from the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea and the Middle East.
Energy-saving lighting concept
The need to use energy efficiently also affects elevators, escalators and moving walks. We have developed various measures to reduce the energy used in standby mode – which accounts on average for 60% of total elevator energy requirements. For example, modern LED lamps reduce energy consumption by up to 40% compared with conventional lighting. These energy-saving systems can be installed in new installations or retrofitted in existing installations to meet increasing demands for energy efficiency.
Services: Innovative service for the steel industry
Innovation projects in the Services segment last year again focused on developing new and tailored service offerings for our customers.
One important area was the steel industry, where we successfully implemented various innovative ideas. In a cross-segment project, a team of engineers developed an innovative mobile sludge dewatering system for a coke plant. With this new concept, residual wastes which previously had to be disposed of can now be recycled at low cost. Following successful trials and commencement of regular operation, the system can now also be used in other areas of industry.
Under another cross-segment project we developed a new load lifting system using electropermanent magnets for slab handling. A pilot system was tested in the port of Walsum in Duisburg. The new system is also to be used soon to move steel slabs weighing up to 36 tons at the Steel segment's new mill in Brazil.
New roads for rail traffic
The NFF New Slab Track System from Services is an innovative alternative for building new rail tracks on difficult ground. Unlike conventional slab tracks where the concrete or asphalt slabs lie flat on the sub-base, the New Slab Track rests on a bridge-like substructure in which pairs of concrete piles are driven into the ground and connected by cross members. The concrete slabs are laid on this, and on them the rails. The loads from train operation are transferred directly into deep and stable ground layers. The innovative profiles for the slabs are made by the DAVEX roll joining process.
Improved equipment for offshore construction services
Our engineers have developed new and improved vibratory pile driving equipment for port expansion projects, e.g. container terminal construction, and in the offshore area for anchoring drilling rigs or offshore wind parks. New bearings for the rotating masses increase the performance and extend the lifetime of the vibratory hammers.
Innovation contest 2008 highlights successful projects
Our Groupwide innovation contest is instrumental in further improving the investment climate by helping turn good ideas into marketable products and services. 61 projects of consistently high quality from all segments were entered in the 2008 contest. The criteria on which judging was based were customer value, customer retention, cost savings in in-house production, degree of innovation and market potential. Three project teams including a total of 18 employees were honored for their outstanding innovations.
The contest has been held each year since 2000, underlining the importance of continuous innovation efforts. In the contests held to date, 414 projects have been entered and 36 of them have won awards. Around a quarter of all projects stem from outside Germany. The innovation contest is being staged again in 2009, the tenth year in succession.