voestalpine research team nominated for European Inventor Award
A voestalpine research team led by Josef Faderl has made it to the finals of the European Inventor Award 2023 with their development of phs-ultraform®. This press-hardened and galvanized steel for car bodies is significantly stronger than conventional steel. It provides the proven corrosion protection of galvanized steel sheet and can be found today on the road in millions of cars.
Press-hardened steels today account for an average of 10 to 20 percent of the body weight of European vehicles. Only 20 years ago, press-hardened components were made exclusively of serially produced uncoated or hot-dip aluminized steels. But automotive customers have increasingly demanded zinc-based coatings because of their superior corrosion protection. Here is the issue: The steel is heated during press hardening up to 950 °C and then hardened in a press. But zinc melts at the low temperature of 420 °C and even evaporates at roughly 900 °C. This is why the use of strip-galvanized steels was declared impossible at the time for press-hardening. This was much too hasty for voestalpine employee and physicist Josef Faderl. He got together with other inventors and colleagues in Linz and Schwäbisch Gmünd to develop a steel with a functional zinc coating that could withstand the high temperatures of press-hardening and an associated tooling and manufacturing technology that would enable process-reliable and high-quality components in serial production.
Lighter yet crash-proof and corrosion-proof
A deep understanding of the properties and structure of zinc coatings has made it possible to produce galvanized and press-hardened steel components with high strength and low weight and material thickness. The environmental effects of phs-ultraform® are considerable in addition to the safety benefits. A smaller amount of steel must be produced because of the reduced thickness. The corrosion-inhibiting zinc makes car bodies lighter and last longer. This reduces both the consumption of resources and CO2 emissions during production as well as vehicle operation. This is why It was only a matter of time before the world's car manufacturers became highly interested in phs-ultraform®. The steel went into serial production in 2008, only six years after the beginning of development. Every year, more than 30 million vehicle parts worldwide are manufactured using this material and have been installed in more than five million vehicles. Meanwhile, the number of patents related to the press-hardening of galvanized steels has grown to more than 70 patent families and several hundred granted patents.
Inventor Award to be presented on 4 July
The positive effects of this new technology have led Faderl and his team to become three finalists in the Industry category of the European Inventor Award 2023. It is considered one of the most prestigious innovation prizes in Europe and is awarded annually by the European Patent Office. An independent jury rewards outstanding and commercially successful developments that have been patented by major European companies. Whether Mr. Faderl will be able to accept the coveted inventor prize on behalf of his colleagues will be decided on 4 July 2023 in Valencia during a ceremony that will be broadcast at https://inventoraward.epo.org and is open to the public. You can show your support for the voestalpine team on this website. Each finalist is also eligible for the audience award. The public chooses the winners of this award. Vote now for your favorite inventor!
