Volkswagen AG has honored ThyssenKrupp Steel with the Volkswagen Group Award for environment awareness. Dr. Ulrich Jaroni, member of the Executive Board of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG, accepted the award in Wolfsburg from Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, and board member Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz. The Volkswagen award recognizes suppliers who contribute innovative solutions to making cars more environmentally friendly. ThyssenKrupp Steel also recently became one of Volkswagen's Sustainability Partners, a group of suppliers who, like ThyssenKrupp Steel in its recently published sustainability report, commit explicitly to the goals of sustainable development.

"ThyssenKrupp Steel uses environmentally sound technologies in the cost-effective production and processing of innovative steel products which, with their high strength combined with high formability allow the production of thin-walled, weight-optimized automotive parts" ran the trib-ute at the award ceremony. "In addition to efficient energy use at the Duisburg plant, this results in reduced fuel consumption for Volkswagen customers."

Innovation for environmentally sound cars
ThyssenKrupp Steel plays a leading role in the development of innovative steel grades which offer high strength and formability at low thicknesses. The company is also continuously developing processing technologies for steel: for example, tailored products are made of steels of different thicknesses, strengths and surface properties, their design precisely matched to the loads which will occur in the finished part. This concept also makes a decisive contribution to saving weight without having to compromise on safety. At the same time, OEMs can manufacture more cost-effectively with tailored products.

As a system partner to the auto industry, ThyssenKrupp Steel supports its customers right from the development stage in implementing innovative steel materials and material-oriented production concepts in the manufacture of new vehicles. Lightweight automotive construction plays an important role in this, as do more efficient production routes with shorter process chains and optimized material usage.

Environmentally sound production
In Duisburg, ThyssenKrupp Steel operates the world's second-largest integrated steel mill and produces around 11.5 million metric tons of crude steel annually to the highest environmental standards. Water and air pollution control and an almost 100% recycling system are integral to the company's operating processes. The Duisburg mill is one of the most efficient plants in the world in terms of energy use. Process gases produced during the manufacture of steel are used as energy for further production steps. The mill is almost self-sufficient in terms of power supply and part of the energy is even fed into the public district heating network. In addition, almost all the water used by ThyssenKrupp Steel is recycled: only four per cent of the required annual water volume is fresh water.

Steel: 100 per cent recyclable
Steel is predestined for eco-friendly auto construction not least due to its recycling properties. The material can be reused easily, again and again and without any loss in quality. Steel recycling operates according to market criteria and is economically sustainable without subsidies. 100 per cent of the steel used in auto construction can already be recycled.