On the pulse of green transformation

In 2023, March 8th will once again mark the annual International Women's Day, and closely follows this year’s International Engineers Week with the motto “Creating Future”. Reason enough to introduce our female talents and engineers at thyssenkrupp. After all, they are the ones who shape the world of tomorrow every day. What do engineers do, and how do you become an engineer? Janaina Solvelino Brum, reduction metallurgy engineer at thyssenkrupp Steel, explains.

Fascination blast furnace

When Janaina started her engineering studies in Ouro Preto, Brazil, she had never seen a blast furnace before. “I always wanted to be an engineer,” the 37-year-old says. “However, the focus was not clear to me.” It was fortunate, she says, that she chose her current field of metallurgy. “I really like the atmosphere here in industry and production, and I think it's nice to work in Duisburg, Europe's largest steel location.”

After training as an industrial mechanic and completing her bachelor's degree, the Brazilian native was drawn to the Ruhr region to study for a master's degree with a focus on metallurgy and forming technology, and after graduating in 2013 she eventually joined thyssenkrupp Steel at the Competence Center Metallurgy. Janaina can still remember her first visit to a steel company as a student: “I remember very clearly what my first tour was like. I was totally fascinated when I saw the blast furnace”, she recalls. “It was impressive to see what a dynamic process steel production is.”

Probably the most exciting job of our time

Today, Janaina is accompanying precisely this steel production into a new era and is playing a very specific role in the green transformation of the steel industry every day. “As a reduction metallurgy engineer, I deal with the quality assessment of raw materials and feedstocks for pig iron production as well as the optimization of use in the production process,” explains Janaina. As part of thyssenkrupp Steel's 20-30 strategy and the construction of the first direct reduction plant for the production of pig iron using hydrogen instead of coal, Janaina and her colleagues will face many new and challenging tasks in the coming years.

"I'm currently involved in a project to investigate the sintering phases," explains the engineer. "It's a great opportunity to be directly involved in the transformation of this industry and an exciting time to be working at thyssenkrupp Steel!" says Janaina happily.

The path to green steel

With the green transformation of the steel industry, Janaina's department and everyday working life are also constantly changing. "Traditional pig iron production has to be completely restructured for climate-neutral steel production," says the engineer. "The metallurgy sector in particular is facing a huge and sustainable challenge." Following the first tests on the use of hydrogen in ongoing blast furnace operations in 2020 and the first CO₂-reduced products such as bluemint® Steel, thyssenkrupp Steel recently took the next decisive step towards green steel with the award of a billion-euro contract to launch one of the world's largest industrial decarbonization projects.

"In the coming years, we will focus entirely on this transformation and adapt the quality assessment of raw and input materials as well as the use optimization in the production process for the direct reduction plant, which has different quality requirements compared to the blast furnace," explains Janaina.

The new plant is scheduled for completion in 2026 and will save 3.5 million tons of CO₂ emissions at the Duisburg site every year from then on. The aim is to produce climate-neutral steel by 2045 at the latest. For Janaina, this is one of the reasons why she enjoys working at thyssenkrupp Steel so much."

"I enjoy my work every day!"

"thyssenkrupp Steel stands for innovation in steel and high-quality products for the most demanding applications," she says. "I think the current conversion for the future production of green premium steel is very good and thyssenkrupp Steel offers us employees many training opportunities on the way there." By converting to direct reduction, the company is not only taking responsibility for future generations and reducing its CO₂ footprint, but also creating concrete future prospects for Germany as a steel location and its workforce.

For Janaina, it's a complete package! "I enjoy my work every day because it's very dynamic," she says. "As I deal with different topics, I can continuously deepen and expand my knowledge and learn something new." What she particularly likes about her day-to-day work is how diverse and varied it is and the collaboration with colleagues. Janaina also appreciates the work-life balance at thyssenkrupp Steel: "There has been a company kindergarten in Duisburg since 2013, the Stahlsternchen. I can take my child to kindergarten and go to work without worrying because I know that my child is very well looked after."

The path to becoming an engineer

Janaina advises prospective engineers to inform themselves carefully about the upcoming transformation, which will not only affect the steel industry in the coming years, but also other specialist areas of engineering. Which areas and skills will be in demand in the future? This means that appropriate specializations can be chosen during training or studies. "Internships or student traineeships are also very important. They allow you to experience work processes in practice and get a first professional impression," says Janaina. "This is a great help when it comes to deciding on a specific specialist area."

If you are also interested in a career as an engineer, you can find our vacancies - from internships to entry-level jobs - on our career page.