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The spin-off from Chemnitz University of Technology received start-up funding and start-up support from TUClab and SAXEED in addition to equity financing.

Two years after winning the TUClab award, mecorad founder and managing director Dr. Marc Banaszak met Dr. Joseph Heß, project manager of the TUClab, and Dr. Susanne Schübel, managing director of the start-up network SAXEED, at the TCC Technology Center Chemnitz to speak about current projects and mecorad`s development. Things got hot when Marc Banaszak’s team used the new demonstrator to show that the sensors measure precisely even under extreme heat as it is the case in steel production.

“In mid-2020 we found ourselves in the middle of the corona pandemic and accordingly it was challenging for most of the young companies and start-ups that we work with as part of the TUClab to survive in the market. So it is all the nicer to see how mecorad, which we have promoted and supported, has developed further despite this difficult time,” says Heß.
The order books are now filling up again and the demonstrator presented shows that mecorad is ready to make an important contribution to the digitization of the steel industry. “After the visit, I am very convinced that the company will bring everything that is necessary for this,” adds Hess.

 In 2018, mecorad came up with the idea of ​​helping the operators of steel and hot rolling mills to improve their processes with high-precision measurement solutions and applications based on them. In addition, they wanted to support the companies in networking their production to the end customer. The need was and is there, because both the reduction of CO2 emissions from these energy-intensive industries and digitization are currently among the greatest challenges for the steel and metal industry.

Today – three years later – mecorad can provide high-precision measurement solutions that lead to higher product quality and reduce losses in production value. Funding within the framework of the TUClab of the TU Chemnitz prepared the ground for this success.  “So far, the rolled steel has not been measured at the process points, but after it has cooled down and in some cases by hand. Our in-house developed radar sensors can measure the still hot material to be formed in real time and use calculation algorithms to output the values ​​to be expected after cooling.” says Banaszak. If the data generated in this way deviates too much from the production plan, the plant operator in the rolling mill can take countermeasures directly and precisely and thus reduce scrap, overtime and thus also CO2 emissions. In order to integrate the data obtained in real time into the IT systems requested by the customers, mecorad also offers tailor-made solutions. The company is helping to digitize steel production along the value chain.

At the meeting in the TCC, Banaszak demonstrated the reliability of the sensors developed by mecorad using a burner at the new demonstrator. The construction of the demonstrator was part of an MEP grant with which the European Union and the Free State of Saxony promoted the market launch of their product line “wtl series for rolling lines”. The funds come from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the budget of the Free State of Saxony decided by the Saxon State Parliament.

This is the smallest possible setup for measuring geometric data of hot metal forming goods. Results are delivered in real time directly to a display or into PLC for in-line interventions, or even directly into the IT sphere of a customer. With our IIoT applications information can be integrated into any of the customer’s systems.

The demonstrator is part of our MEP grant, supporting the start of the wtl series for rolling lines. The funds come from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the budget of the Free State of Saxony decided by the Saxon State Parliament.

This year, for example, Mercedes Benz announced plans to “launch green steel in various vehicle models on the market as early as 2025”¹ in cooperation with a start-up. The aim is to save as much CO2 emissions as possible already during the production of the cars and their individual components instead of compensating them later on.

Volvo Cars presented its collaboration with a Swedish steelmaker to jointly develop fossil-free, high quality steel for use in the automotive industry².

In 2020, 78 million vehicles were manufactured

And looking at the high amount of steel used for car production, this might have a huge impact on the progress of green steel development:

2020 marks a crisis year in automotive manufacturing. Due to the pandemic, only 78 million vehicles were produced, a drop in production of 16 % compared to the previous year³.
On average, 900 kg of steel⁴ is used per vehicle, summing up to an amount of 70,2 million tonnes of steel for the automotive industry in 2020 alone. Assuming around 1.83 t of CO2 emissions per tonne of steel produced, the production of steel for automotive manufacturing alone causes 128.46 million t of CO2, not including logistics routes and assembly at the OEMs plants.

Therefore, the movement towards green – or at least greener – steel seems as a well-considered step that will sooner or later find imitators. Steel manufacturers supplying to the automotive industry should keep that in mind while having a closer look at their processes and also checking their reportings. 
There are smart solutions to support a smoother running and more efficient production with a reduction of yield losses, for example at casting and hot rolling operations, adding up to a better performance.  By integrating corresponding IIoT applications, production reporting can also be supported.

Is a caliper what you use for measuring your hotmetal forming goods? And do you have to wait for hours after they were rolled, until you get measurement results?
Imagine, you would know the exact data when the goods are still hot.  
Or that you would know if there´s a need for a slight alignment of the rolls to achieve the best results while the process is ongoing.
Furthermore: imagine, all necessary data would be delivered to the involved peoples´ devices in real time.
That´s not imagination, but a smart and reliable combination of radar and IIoT technology. Combined in what we call mecorad`s wtl series.
This IIoT solution not only measures geometries of hot forming goods in real time through radar sensors. It also provides you with the information necessary, right when and where you need them: Through interfaces the data can be delivered to different departments, such as stock, quality control or sales.

Ecological Footprint

Did you know, May 5th is Germany´s Overshoot Day? That means from January 1st until May 5th, German residents have -per person- used as much from nature as the planet is able to renew per person in the entire year. The dates are calculated by the Footprint Data Foundation, York University and Global Footprint Network.

A postponement of the date of Overshoot Day is possible: if we redesign our infrastructures, make processes significantly more resource-efficient, decarbonize energy systems, and bind CO2.

Decarbonizing the economy

The best possible chance to address climate change is to decarbonize the economy. This would also vastly improve the balance between our Ecological Footprint and the planet’s renewable resources.

More than 60 million tons CO2 equivalent are emitted by the German steel industry alone each year. The main amount of this results from the production of coke and the production of hot metal in the blast furnace.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from steel production, several large industry decarbonization projects have emerged all over Europe. So, Green Steel is the current topic No 1.

Due to varying systems, the concrete emission contingent of ancillary facilities is uncertain. Unquestionable is that they produce large volume of CO2, as well.
That is where our solutions step in to support a smoother running and more efficient production with a reduction of yield losses in the smelting, casting and hot rolling operations.

That´s mecorads contribution to a cleaner future.

 Indeed it significantly shortened the development time to market for our IIoT solution wtl series.

To read the full article, please visit the Fraunhofer Venture page (German language version, only).

mecorad has great news to share: We successfully onboarded a new investor.
With Saxony´s investment company SBG we will take our growth path to a higher level.

The deal comes as the final achievement in the TUCLab from whom we received so much support over the last year in further developing our company and the wtl series – our IIoT radar-based and highly flexible measurement solution for hot metals forming.

Upon announcing this, we also want to say a big thank you to our current investor FTTF & EIT Raw Materials.
Their assessment of our technology and its benefit to our customers planted the seed of trust during due diligence. Especially the EIT Raw Materials Booster in response to the COVID-19 crisis has to be mentioned as greatly supportive in striking this latest deal.

Our wtl series proves its reliable measurements of geometries with micrometer accuracy under a steel mill’s harsh conditions, such as extreme heat, fumes, dirt and vibrations. By processing the data with our analytic software, it enables better process transparency and significant reductions in scrap waste and downtime. Thus, CO2 emissions for unnecessary heating of the material can be reduced whilst a higher quality of products is achieved at the same time during hot forming.

Find more about our partner SBG here.