University and steel producer join forces on sustainability

UGent regularly sets up collaborations with companies, but normally on short-term projects. “This exceptional long-term co-operation will help us look at the bigger picture, instead of focusing on specific problems,” says Rik Van de Walle, dean of UGent’s faculty of engineering sciences and architecture. “It will give us a better view of the developments in and the needs of this industrial sector.”

The specific collaboration is not entirely new. UGent and ArcelorMittal have already worked together on separate projects, and UGent has also brought students into contact with the company via internships, theses, job days, company visits and guest lectures. Of ArcelorMittal Gent’s 4,700 employees, 280 have a master’s degree in the engineering sciences and 80% of them obtained this degree at UGent.

For five years, ArcelorMittal Gent will fund relevant projects by researchers at UGent’s engineering, economics, sciences and bio-engineering faculties. Seventeen professors are involved in the initiative. The projects will focus on energy-efficiency, increased productivity, material efficiency and automation.

“Our collaboration with ArcelorMittal will revolve around innovations concerning sustainability,” Van de Walle says. “The company wants to reduce the CO₂ emissions related to its production process but also make its products more energy-efficient and therefore more eco-friendly.” If, for example, the steel for the bodywork of a car is made lighter, the car will need less fuel to drive.

For UGent, the collaboration offers researchers the opportunity to test their work on a realistic industrial production scale. “It will also encourage researchers to think in a more multidisciplinary way, as different faculties are involved,” Van de Walle says.

Photo: Matthieu Jehl of ArcelorMittal and UGent rector Ann De Paepe
© ArcelorMittal