Body-in-white of a BMW iX3 bluemint® recycled is used for selected exterior body panels
The supply of bluemint® recycled CO₂-reduced steel to the BMW Group will start in 2026. Central application areas – the outer panels, interior parts, and the battery housing – in the BMW iX3 will in future be made of bluemint® Steel from thyssenkrupp Steel. The material has a high proportion of recycled material and achieves CO₂ savings verified by TÜV Süd compared to conventional steel. bluemint® recycled is a mass‑balanced recycled product. A mathematical allocation procedure ensures that CO₂ re-ductions from the production process can be attributed to products on a pro rata basis. The BMW Group will use bluemint® recycled in series production without having to adapt existing processes.
CO₂-reduced steel for outer panel components with the highest surface requirements
The automotive industry uses almost exclusively primary steel, which is extracted from iron ore, for the outer body shell – especially for what are called the O5 components with partic-ularly high surface quality. Due to its high degree of purity and low exposure to undesirable accompanying elements, it also meets the highest requirements in terms of surface quality, formability, and processing. With bluemint® recycled, a CO₂-reduced steel product is now available that meets these quality requirements and can be used in the demanding series production of outer panels. The material is produced using the classic blast furnace route, in which part of the iron ore is replaced by a specially processed scrap product. This re-duces the use of coking coal and significantly cuts CO₂ emissions depending on the grade and processing – without compromising formability or surface quality.
CO₂-reduced steel: additional use in the battery housing
bluemint® recycled is also used for the battery housing in the BMW iX3. In this application in particular, the components benefit from the typical properties of steel, which are of key im-portance for safety and functionality in electric vehicles. Steel can withstand high tempera-tures, is non-combustible and forms a robust barrier in critical load cases – a decisive ad-vantage for fire protection. In addition, unlike lightweight metals, steel offers superior elec-tromagnetic shielding. This stabilizes system performance and reduces the design effort re-quired for additional shielding measures.
Georgios Giovanakis, Chief Sales Officer at thyssenkrupp Steel, explains: “With bluemint® recycled, the BMW Group has access to a CO₂-reduced steel product that meets the highest quality requirements and can be used directly in series production. The fact that bluemint® Steel is used for both outer panel components and battery housings shows the great potential of CO₂-reduced steel. Electromobility and climate‑friendly steel together make an important contribution to reducing industrial emissions.”
Contribution to sustainable mobility
The combination of electric mobility and CO₂-reduced steel shows how technological innova-tions along the value chain contribute to the same goal: measurable climate change mitiga-tion effects on an industrial scale. The use of bluemint® recycled in the outer panel and battery components of the BMW iX3 illustrates the potential of using CO₂-reduced materials under series production conditions, while at the same time reliably meeting the requirements of modern vehicle architectures. Moreover, the use of scrap in bluemint® recycled enables a higher recycling rate in the vehicle – another important building block for sustainable pro-duction that husbands resources.
Transformation of steel production as the key to carbon neutrality
bluemint® recycled is part of thyssenkrupp Steel’s transformation pathway toward carbon-neutral steel production. The planned operation of a hydrogen-capable direct reduction plant will gradually replace the previous coal-based steel production process. The plant will pro-duce up to 2.5 million metric tons of direct reduced iron (DRI) per year, enabling a CO₂ re-duction of up to 3.5 million metric tons per year. By 2045 at the latest, it is planned for all production to be changed over to climate-neutral bluemint® steel.
https://www.thyssenkrupp.com/en/products/automotive/
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Google Maps. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou need to load content from reCAPTCHA to submit the form. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information
