Electromobility is changing everything – including the demands on steel. While conventional combustion engines operate at moderate speeds, electric motors rotate at up to 20,000 revolutions per minute. Rotor shafts and motor components must withstand this extreme stress without losing dimensional accuracy. Strength, toughness, and precision are non-negotiable here – every deviation costs efficiency and service life.
The difference becomes even more dramatic with transmission components. The instantly available torque of electric motors places entirely different demands than the gentler power transmissions in combustion engines. Material fatigue becomes a critical factor, and noise development moves into focus: without the engine noise of a combustion engine, even the smallest vibrations in the transmission become audible. The solution? High-strength, lightweight steels that not only impress mechanically but also acoustically.
Perhaps the greatest problem, however, lies deeper – literally. Electric vehicles are heavier than their fossil-fueled predecessors. The battery adds several hundred kilograms of additional weight that the chassis and steering components must support. At the same time: every gram saved increases range. The automotive industry faces a dilemma that can only be solved through advanced materials science.
Three Letters That Make the Difference
The GMH Group has a clear answer to these challenges: materials such as 46MnVS5, 40MnVS3, and 16MnCrV7-7. Behind these sober designations lies years of development work.
The concept is as simple as it is effective: higher strength allows component cross-sections to be reduced without compromising stability. The materials 46MnVS5 and 40MnVS3 combine precisely this property with excellent machinability. Vanadium increases hardness, sulfur improves processing properties – the result is components that can be up to 20 percent lighter while maintaining the same load capacity.
The bainitic steel 16MnCrV7-7 goes one step further. Its low carbon content guarantees a tough core – crucial for the crash safety of modern vehicles. At the same time, a wear-resistant surface can be created through case hardening. Gear wheels made from this material have low distortion, run quietly, and last extremely long. Three properties that must come together in e-mobility.
The path from raw steel melt to finished component is highly complex: controlled cooling, precise tempering, targeted case hardening – every process step must be precisely coordinated. The result is fine-grained, strong microstructures capable of withstanding the extreme loads in electric drives. Lighter, more durable, more efficient – and quieter. Exactly what electromobility needs.
From the Volkswagen Factory Floor Back to the Melting Furnace
Sustainability is no longer a marketing promise – it’s a supplier criterion. The GMH Group also recognized this when it was honored as the most sustainable supplier of the Volkswagen Group in 2023. The reason: a closed material cycle that demonstrates how modern circular economy works.
The principle is strikingly simple. Production and end-of-life scrap from Volkswagen plants are melted down at Georgsmarienhütte GmbH and delivered back as new premium steel. Today’s scrap is tomorrow’s transmission component. Volkswagen now relies on the “Green Power Premium Steel” product line – a CO₂-reduced steel bar that flows directly into the in-house production of transmission parts.
The numbers are impressive: the high-quality engineering steel is produced in an electric arc furnace using 100 percent renewable electricity. Additionally, biogenic coal is used as a raw material. The result: the CO₂ footprint is reduced by up to 98 percent compared to conventional blast furnace steel – at least when considering direct and indirect emissions from production and energy sourcing. Even when the entire supply chain is factored in, 78 percent savings compared to conventional steel remain.
That these figures are not embellished is guaranteed by a TÜV SÜD-verified method for calculating the Product Carbon Footprint. Georgsmarienhütte GmbH follows international standards such as ISO 14067, ISO 14044, and the GHG Protocol. All steps from scrap procurement through the melting process to heat treatment are recorded based on actual consumption and production values. Every PCF is externally validated – including transparent comparability at product and batch level.
Additionally, Georgsmarienhütte communicates its progress through the Low Emission Steel Standard: the site has already achieved Class B. A clear signal to the automotive industry, which increasingly focuses not only on material quality but also on climate performance.
Circular Economy – Simple in Theory, Complex in Practice
Nearly 100 percent metal scrap as a raw material base – what sounds like an ideal circular economy is highly complex in reality. The GMH Group has created its own processing unit with GMH Recycling GmbH, where scrap is sorted, shredded, and pressed. Different material types are treated separately: from unalloyed steel scrap to high-quality alloyed grades.
Closed Loop (Source: GMH Gruppe)
Closed Loop (Source: GMH Gruppe)
Production residues and end-of-life scrap from the automotive industry flow into the cycle as well as by-products from the company’s own manufacturing. Even grinding sludge and chips are recycled through modern processing techniques such as briquetting. The goal: a nearly closed material cycle in which scrap becomes new steel, which becomes components, and later becomes raw material again.
In the long term, the GMH Group aims to produce climate-neutrally by 2039. An ambitious goal that builds on the already achieved LESS certification of Class B.
However, implementation remains challenging. The quality and availability of high-quality scrap is limited, and sorting requires complex processes. Rising global demand for recycled material leads to competition for suitable scrap. Technologically, there are also limits to recycling heavily alloyed steels or fine metal chips.
Another critical point: the energy balance. The electric furnace process requires considerable amounts of electricity – the CO₂ balance depends significantly on the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix. In addition, there are logistical challenges. While the GMH Group benefits from its integrated site structure, seamless return of scrap from customer networks remains complex. And finally, emissions outside the company’s own production – especially in the supply chain – are still difficult to fully control.
The Steel of the Future is Being Melted Today
The transformation of the automotive industry is in full swing – and steel plays a leading role. No longer the heavy, conventional material from the blast furnace, but precisely alloyed, lightweight, and CO₂-reduced specialty steels from the electric arc furnace.
Green Power Premium Steel Bar Stock (Source: GMH Gruppe)
Green Power Premium Steel Bar Stock (Source: GMH Gruppe)
With its material developments, commitment to circular economy, and cooperation with Volkswagen, the GMH Group demonstrates how this transformation can succeed. From 46MnVS5 to 40MnVS3 to bainitic 16MnCrV7-7 – these materials are more than technical solutions. They are the answer to an industry that must simultaneously become lighter, stronger, and cleaner.
With nearly 100 percent recycling rate, 98 percent CO₂ reduction for Green Power Premium Steel, and the goal of climate neutrality by 2039, Georgsmarienhütte is setting standards. Not only for the steel industry – but for sustainable mobility of the future.
Contact:
Luciana Finazzi Filizzola, Director Sustainability and Communications, GMH Gruppe (Source: GMH Gruppe)
Luciana Finazzi Filizzola
Director Sustainability and Communications, GMH Gruppe
Luciana.Filizzola@gmh-gruppe.de
GMH Gruppe
