HYDERABAD: An Indo-German research collaboration led by the University of Hyderabad (UoH) has achieved a breakthrough that could transform sustainable steel manufacturing for the global automotive industry. The study, conducted under the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) project “Steel4LTC”, has been featured as the cover story in the May 2026 issue of the journal ACS Applied Engineering Materials.

The study was led by researchers from the School of Engineering Sciences and Technology (SEST), UoH, including PhD scholar Mohsin Hasan, Joshua Daniel Jujjavarapu, Nanda Kishore Karnam and Prof Koteswararao V Rajulapati. The project involved collaboration with the University of Siegen in Germany, JSW Steel, Salem, and German automotive spring manufacturer MUBEA.

Researchers compared the conventional quenching and tempering (QT) process with an advanced induction quenching and tempering (IQT) technique for SAE 9254 spring steel used in automotive suspension systems. According to the findings, it refined the steel’s microstructure, improving ductility, toughness and fatigue resistance while maintaining ultra-high tensile strength exceeding 2,000 MPa.

The IQT-treated steel recorded 19% higher reduction of area and 8.2% greater elongation compared to conventionally treated steel. The study also found that fatigue strength increased by 36% under one loading condition and by up to 64% under another.

Researchers said the IQT process could reduce energy consumption by nearly 67% compared to traditional methods, potentially saving around 18.25 GWh of energy annually and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 15,000 tonnes.