Page 8 from: May 2013

8 May 2013

N E W S

The steel auto body structures of
the near future ‘can be as lightweight as
today’s aluminium bodies’, insists World-
AutoSteel, the automotive group of the
World Steel Association. All crash per-
formance standards have been met at a
comparable cost to current steel struc-
tures, it emphasises.
The steel industry’s most recent studies
boost mass savings to 39% compared to
a baseline steel body structure carrying an
internal combustion engine and adjusted
for a battery-electric powertrain and year
2020 regulatory requirements. The opti-
mised FutureSteelVehicle (FSV) body
would weigh just 176.8 kg, ‘putting steel
on par with today’s aluminium production
designs’, asserts the automotive group.
‘Our latest lightweighting projects show
the continuing potential of steel and
demonstrate how car makers can take
advantage of steel’s design fl exibility and
use advanced high-strength steels
(AHSS) to meet their diffi cult challenges
for improving fuel economy and reducing

greenhouse gas emissions,’ says World-
AutoSteel’s director Cees ten Broek.
The FSV programme has developed opti-
mised AHSS body structures for four pro-
posed 2015-2020 model-year vehicles,
such as the battery electric (BEV) and
plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) A- and
B-class vehicles. ‘Although the programme
focused on electrifi ed powertrains, the
design and material advancements are
equally applicable for any type of automo-
bile,’ underlines WorldAutoSteel.
The FSV programme employs various
advanced steels and steel technologies,
using more than 20 new AHSS grades – all
of which are expected to be ‘commercially
available’ in the 2015-2020 technology
horizon. ‘These steels answer the call of
automakers for stronger, formable steels
needed for lighter structures that meet
increasingly stringent crash requirements,’
notes the automotive group. ‘They are
evidence of steel’s continual self-reinven-
tion to meet automotive design chal-
lenges.’ www.worldautosteel.org

The global waste-to-energy
(WTE) market will reach US$ 7.4 billion
in 2013, according to a new study by
London-based research fi rm Visiongain.
‘Waste-to-energy provides a win-win
solution to urban consumer societies by
effectively processing large municipal
solid waste volumes, while creating elec-
tricity and/or local heating,’ asserts
Visiongain. Its report points out that an

increasing number of governments are
offering support to the industry or creat-
ing regulations ‘to drive it forward’.
However, WTE is expensive and cannot
compete with low-cost landfi ll without
incentives, Visiongain argues. It says the
main challenges for the sector are unsus-
tainable landfi lling, methane emissions
reduction, growing waste volumes and
lack of space. www.visiongain.com

The BIR world recycling organisation
has reiterated its call to members to use
the services of the International Cham-
ber of Commerce’s anti-crime unit, the
International Maritime Bureau (IMB), in
order to minimise losses to container
theft and fraud.
The BIR and the IMB joined forces
recently to collate information on such
illegal activities. ‘Once a critical mass of
information has been reached, the IMB
can analyse the data and provide some
meaningful assistance to industry in
combating the problem,’ states BIR.
Reports of fraud and malpractice by
existing trading partners are also wel-
comed by the IMB. ‘These reports will be

sanitised and kept on record, with the
Bureau acting as a clearing house for
information which can be utilised by the
BIR membership,’ explains the world
body. ‘There has previously been a reluc-
tance to share such information, but by
disseminating such details others in the
industry may avoid losses and the poten-
tial fraudsters themselves discouraged.’
One facility available to BIR members is
checking counterparties against IMB’s
company database, which currently com-
prises over 200 000 companies. ‘Over
the years, this has proved to be an effec-
tive loss-prevention tool for IMB mem-
bers in other industries,’ BIR points out.
www.icc-ccs.org

Steel lightweighting to
redefine auto industry?

Waste-to-energy market
set for take-off

BIR urges information-sharing
on theft and fraud

Martijn Reintjes joins
‘Recycling International’ team
‘Recycling International’ welcomes Martijn Reintjes (47),
who recently joined our team as associate editor. He has
over 20 years of international editorial experience in pub-
lic and business-to-business news media.
Reintjes started his journalism career in the early 1990s,
working for several regional newspapers in the Nether-
lands. For four years, he was a reporter on the Caribbean edition of a leading
Dutch national newspaper, based in the Netherlands Antilles. In 1999, Reintjes
joined leading business-to-business publisher Reed Business where he was
(chief) editor on several leading hospitality magazines.
The switch from hospitality to the world of recycling is big and challenging,
according to Reintjes. ‘It is a privilege to work on the leading magazine for the
global recycling industries,’ he says. ‘I am eager to learn everything about the
recycling industries and I look forward to meeting the people who are involved.’

To contact Martijn Reintjes:
[email protected]
T +31 263 120 994

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