Volkswagen Group wins Swedish Steel Prize 2025

An entirely new way of thinking steel

”With their holistic approach the Volkswagen Group and their partners have developed a press hardening process to obtain different high strength and high ductility properties out of one single steel alloy. Their patented method will provide unique advantages when optimizing future car body structures, in terms of weight and performance and with an unshakable focus on safety,” says Eva Petursson, chair of the Swedish Steel Prize jury and head of SSAB’s research and innovation.

Shaping the future of mobility

Volkswagen Group, the largest car manufacturer in Europe, aims to become carbon neutral by 2050. Using less material for construction and putting a lighter car on the road is central to reaching this goal.

Today, to combine different properties in one car component – in particular zones of optimized strength and zones of optimized crash energy absorption – multiple materials must be welded together. But with the groundbreaking method developed by Dr Ansgar Hatscher and his team, these specific properties can be achieved using one single sheet of press hardening steel. The SIBORA® alloy concept simultaneously results in high strength and improved ductility and the 3-step process can be adjusted to achieve different properties in different areas of the component.

SIBORA® will allow stronger, lighter and better car components to be developed faster and in a more targeted manner – with a leaner production process, easier assembly, reduced costs and improved sustainability. And the automotive industry is only the beginning…

The runners-up

The runners-up – The Greenbrier Companies from the U.S., InfiniSpring from Finland, and Loglogic from the UK – were also celebrated at the award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden on May 8.

The Swedish Steel Prize

The Swedish Steel Prize celebrates engineering, cooperation and steel innovations that lead to a better and more sustainable world. The winner receives a diploma, a statuette by the sculptor Jörg Jeschke and intense media exposure. In conjunction with the Swedish Steel Prize 2025, SSAB will make a SEK 100,000 donation to UNICEF in support of their efforts to provide quality education and learning opportunities to children and adolescents worldwide.

www.steelprize.com

For more information please contact:
Eva Petursson, Chair of the Jury, Swedish Steel Prize, [email protected]
Anna Rutkvist, Project Manager, Swedish Steel Prize, [email protected]