23/05/2023 - Green Buffers wins Swedish Steel Prize 2023

Menéame

The winner of the international Swedish Steel Prize 2023 is Green Buffers from Sweden. The prize is awarded for their highly sophisticated use of energy-absorbing high-strength steel to make trains safer for passengers and more economical for operators.

“The Green Buffers system uses high-strength steel profiles to dissipate the energy from a train collision in a controlled way. Their new generation coupling technology opens up for sophisticated custom design solutions that will save lives and reduce costs,” says Eva Petursson, chair of the Swedish Steel Prize jury and head of SSAB’s research and innovation.

New generation train coupling technology

Existing crash management systems for trains are primitive. Safety standards are based on technology from the 1960s or 1970s and even minor accidents result in derailments. This is where Roger Danielsson and his colleagues at Green Buffers saw room for improvement. Inspired by the automotive industry, they have developed an energy dissipation system based on high-strength steel that makes train travel safer for passengers and more economical for operators.

The system consists of twelve deformable units mounted in the coupling interfaces throughout the entire train set. In a collision the Strenx® 700 MC steel profiles in the units fold like an accordion, absorbing the impact of the shock in less than a second. By averting the initial peak force and by minimizing all other peak forces, energy from a collision is distributed in a controlled manner.

“Unlike with cars, practically all train collisions are frontal. This gives our system enormous significance,” argues Roger Danielsson. For further improvements in the future the energy-absorbing units can be provided with sensors to provide even more information on energy absorption.

With their innovative system and their ambitious goal – zero uncontrolled derailments related to train accidents ­– Green Buffers have the potential to revolutionize train safety.

Swedish Steel Prize 2023

The runners-up

Runners-up DigJim from Norway, Gestamp from Spain, and Levistor from Great Britain and ZOOZ from Israel (shared nomination) were also celebrated at the award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden on May 11.

Rewarding steel innovations

The Swedish Steel Prize celebrates engineering, cooperation and steel innovations that lead to a better and more sustainable world. The winner receives a diploma, a statuette by the sculptor Jörg Jeschke and intense media exposure. In conjunction with the Swedish Steel Prize 2023, SSAB will make a SEK 100,000 donation to UNICEF in support of their efforts to provide quality education and learning opportunities to children and adolescents worldwide.

www.steelprize.com

SSAB is a Nordic and US-based steel company. SSAB offers value added products and services developed in close cooperation with its customers to create a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world. SSAB has employees in over 50 countries. SSAB has production facilities in Sweden, Finland and the US. SSAB is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and has a secondary listing on Nasdaq Helsinki. www.ssab.com.

Join us also on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Swedish Steel Prize

El Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Industriales de Aragón y La Rioja (COIIAR) acogió en su sede de Zaragoza la conferencia «Soberanía tecnológica y dependencia externa: impacto de la tecnología, la industria, la cadena de suministro y la financiación en el “alistamiento” de la defensa europea», impartida por el vicealmirante del Cuerpo de Ingenieros de la Armada y doctor ingeniero de...

El CDTI Innovación ha difundido una oportunidad de cooperación tecnológica entre España y China para impulsar el desarrollo de maquinaria inteligente destinada a túneles, minería y otros trabajos de construcción subterránea. La iniciativa busca incorporar a una empresa española con capacidades propias de investigación, desarrollo e innovación a un consorcio que plantea diseñar, fabricar y validar sistemas de mayor precisión...

El Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible ha establecido unas nuevas bases comunes para determinados procesos selectivos de los subgrupos A1 y A2, entre ellos los correspondientes al Cuerpo de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos y al Cuerpo de Ingenieros Técnicos Aeronáuticos. La resolución, fechada el 15 de octubre de 2026 y publicada en el Boletín Oficial del Estado el día 28, reorganiza...

El Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos ha constituido un comité técnico para seguir la evolución de las informaciones relativas al accidente ferroviario ocurrido en Urda, en la provincia de Toledo, y contribuir a la identificación de medidas correctoras que refuercen la seguridad y el funcionamiento del sistema. La primera reunión del grupo se celebró el 29 de...

La undécima edición de Egurtek, Foro Internacional de Arquitectura y Construcción en Madera, ha reunido en Bilbao a profesionales de la ingeniería, la arquitectura, la industria forestal y la edificación para analizar las aplicaciones contemporáneas de la madera. La cita, programada los días 28 y 29 de octubre de 2026 en Bilbao Exhibition Centre, cuenta con la colaboración de la...