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ThyssenKrupp Presents Automotive R&D Project

11/11/2009 - ThyssenKrupp engineers from the Steel Europe and Components Technology business areas have developed 35 innovations for auto manufacturers through the InCar research project. The first parts are being tested by customers for introduction into production.

ThyssenKrupp engineers from the Steel Europe and Components Technology business areas have developed 35 innovations for auto manufacturers through the InCar research project. The first InCar parts are already being tested in auto manufacturers’ plants for introduction into production.
 
The companies involved in the project employ experts in materials development, design, production technology, part manufacture, assembly lines, tooling, and prototyping for the auto industry. The project offers new solutions for the body, chassis, and powertrain areas. According to ThyssenKrupp, the innovations have been validated and can be put into production quickly and at low cost.
 
“InCar comes at exactly the right time,” said Dr. Ulrich Jaroni, member of the Executive Board of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, noting that auto manufacturers are looking to develop more eco-friendly and cost-efficient vehicles in part to satisfy new emissions requirements.
 
Dr. Karsten Kroos, chairman of the Components Technology management board, added, “The InCar development priorities were closely coordinated with our customers.”
 
ThyssenKrupp claims that InCar offers innovations capable of reducing emissions by a total of more than 17 grams of CO2 per kilometer. The company is also considering the CO2 generated during the production of cars and parts; thus, the ecological assessment of the InCar solutions prepared by the German institute PE International and certified by TÜV Nord covers the entire product lifecycle. The result, taking the whole production and usage cycle into account, is that the “cleanest” InCar solutions together can reduce emissions by around 5500 kilograms of CO2 per vehicle compared with the current state of the art, according to ThyssenKrupp.
 
With regard to costs, a newly developed two-stage adjustable damper system, for example, allows drivers to choose between comfort and sport suspension settings, while reportedly costing 70% less than continuously variable damper systems currently available. 
 
“We compare the InCar solutions not with a real vehicle from a specific manufacturer but with a manufacturer-independent reference structure,” Kroos explained. “That makes it easier for our customers to adopt our innovations and match them to their own brand, design, and production strategies. At the same time, we now possess our own reference for developing and validating future innovations.”