THYSSENKRUPP STEEL EUROPE AG

Their core work

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is one of Europe's largest flat steel producers, headquartered in Duisburg, Germany. They manufacture high-grade flat carbon steel products for automotive, construction, packaging, and heavy industry applications. In H2020, they contributed industrial-scale steel production expertise to projects targeting decarbonization, lightweight automotive materials, energy-efficient coating processes, and smart factory operations. Their participation reflects a major steelmaker actively working to reduce the environmental footprint of steel production while advancing manufacturing digitalization.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe's early H2020 projects (2014–2015) concentrated on broad manufacturing themes: smart factory worker tools (FACTS4WORKERS), process control optimization (RECOBA), sustainability metrics (MEASURE), and low-CO2 steelmaking (LoCO2Fe). Their later projects shifted toward more specific applied challenges — lightweight automotive steel (ALLIANCE, 2016) and energy-efficient coil coating (ECCO, 2017). This progression shows a move from general industrial digitalization and measurement toward concrete decarbonization and material performance improvements in their core steel business.

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is clearly moving toward decarbonized steel production and energy-efficient manufacturing processes, making them a strong partner for green industry and sustainable materials projects.

How they like to work

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe consistently participates as a partner rather than a coordinator, contributing industrial-scale production environments and real-world testing capacity to research consortia. With 71 unique partners across 18 countries, they engage broadly rather than repeatedly with the same groups, suggesting they are sought after as an end-user validation partner. Their role is typically that of the large industrial company providing use cases, production data, and pilot facilities to test research outputs at scale.

Extensive European network spanning 71 unique partners across 18 countries, reflecting their position as a major industrial end-user that research consortia actively recruit for real-world validation and demonstration.

What sets them apart

ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe brings something most research partners cannot: access to full-scale steel production lines where laboratory results can be validated under real industrial conditions. As one of Europe's top flat steel producers, they offer consortia an immediate pathway from research to industrial application. For anyone building a project on sustainable manufacturing, green steel, or automotive lightweighting, TKSE is a credibility anchor that signals industrial relevance to EU evaluators.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ECCO
  Most technically specific project — directly targeted energy-efficient coil coating with detailed work on radiant burners, catalytic coatings, and solvent reduction in their production lines.
• ALLIANCE
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 439,324) focused on affordable lightweight automotive materials — a strategic priority for the European automotive supply chain.
• LoCO2Fe
  Addressed the core challenge of decarbonizing iron and steelmaking, directly relevant to Europe's climate targets for heavy industry.