ThyssenKrupp AG’s InCar Plus to make vehicles lighter, more efficient

ThyssenKrupp AG, the German corporation, has showcased the results of its new research project called InCar Plus. Engineers from the Essen-based company have developed 40 new components and solutions for the auto industry.

The InCar Plus project helps deliver component weight savings of up to 50 percent and cost reductions of up to 20 percent. The company says it also makes a significant contribution to climate protection: The innovations permit savings of up to eight grams of CO₂ per kilometer. Looking at the overall life cycle of a car, including production and recycling, InCar plus represents a saving of 1.6 tons of CO₂ per vehicle.

ThyssenKrupp CEO Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger emphasizes the importance of the auto industry for the Group: “Business with the auto industry accounts for a quarter of our sales, almost ten billion euros. And the mobility sector will continue to grow in the long term. With InCar plus, the Group is once again underlining its competencies as a partner to the auto industry. The focus is on green solutions for energy efficiency, electromobility and weight reduction. The innovations from the InCar plus project can be used in the body, chassis, steering and powertrain. Whether it’s sustainability, weight, cost, or performance – each InCar plus innovation is superior to the current state of the art in at least one of these categories.”

A total of 100 engineers from eight companies at 15 locations worked on the project. They come from the business areas Steel Europe, one of the world’s leading material partners to auto manufacturers, Components Technology, one of the world’s foremost component suppliers, and Industrial Solutions, with its System Engineering business unit one of the market leaders for engine and transmission assembly and body-in-white lines. Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger: “ThyssenKrupp has systematically leveraged its synergies as a diversified industrial group.”

With InCar Plus, the ThyssenKrupp Group is once again focusing on establishing its presence as a partner to the automotive industry by providing lightweight, sustainable, cheap and high performance components for the body, chassis, steering and powertrain.

The lifecycle of the components have been analysed and the company says the benefits go far and wide in terms of sustainability. InCar innovations not only provide transparency in terms of emissions during driving, but also over the entire life cycle of the products – including extraction of raw materials to use of the products to recycling. While these parts are going to be soon presented to automotive manufacturers in Europe, Asia and the Americas, the first production order for an InCar Plus innovation has already been received by the Group.

Photograph: The multi-part rotor shaft for use in weight-optimized electric motors is one of more than 40 automotive solutions presented by ThyssenKrupp under its InCar plus project. (Photo: ThyssenKrupp Presta Camshafts).