Ruukki Provides Eco-Efficient Metal Components for Biofore Concept Car
06/04/2013 - Ruukki is providing eco-efficient metal components for the Biofore Concept Car being built by UPM and Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.
Ruukki is participating in the development of the Biofore Concept Car being built by UPM and Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Ruukki will provide eco-efficient metal components for the concept car. These special steel components will be used in the front frame and rear axle of the car. The main aim of the project is to test the use of renewable biomaterials in the automotive industry. UPM is providing the biomaterials for several of the car components.
Eco-efficient solutions that reduce the overall carbon footprint are being pursued for all parts - including metal parts - of the Biofore Concept Car currently under development. Ruukki's Litec and Form special steels are ideal for this purpose.
Metropolia's automotive and engineering and industrial design students will be responsible for designing, building and testing the car. A number of other organizations, including Tekes — the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation — are also participating in the project. Design of the Biofore Concept Car is based on the principles of sustainability and recyclability. Steel can be fully recycled indefinitely.
Once completed in spring 2014, the concept car will be licensed for use in road traffic and meet the needs of goods and passenger transport in an urban setting. "Ruukki has participated by providing special steels for a number of Metropolia's vehicle projects. Projects applying to the metals used in this case have tested Ruukki's steels for the automotive industry, done material formability tests and formed sheet metal parts for the concept car being built," explains application manager Ari Minkkinen at Ruukki Metals.
The European automotive industry is increasingly pursuing environmentally-aware solutions as regards both manufacturing and use. For reasons of cost and ecology, steel is the main structural material used in mass-produced cars. High-strength and ultra-high-strength steels reduce frame weight without compromising on safety. Because cars are lighter-weight than earlier, they are also more environmentally sound, consume less fuel and produce less carbon dioxide emissions. The automotive industry is the most important user of Ruukki's Litec steels.
Ruukki specializes in steel and steel construction. We provide customers with energy-efficient steel solutions for better living, working and moving. We have around 9,000 employees and an extensive distribution and dealer network across some 30 countries including the Nordic countries, Russia and elsewhere in Europe and the emerging markets, such as India, China and South America. Net sales in 2012 totaled €2.8 billion.
