Germany / Brazil – At IAA Transportation 2024, held between 17-22 September in Hanover, Germany, Brazilian trailer and components firm Randoncorp presented products from its auto parts brands, including wheel-end components from Castertech, brake systems from Master Freios (a joint venture with Cummins), and axles, suspensions, and e-mobility products from Suspensys. However, the group’s most interesting showcase was invisible to the naked eye. In its axle products lay hidden a secret ingredient measurable only on the nanoscale: a niobium compound, which has the power to augment the mechanical properties of steel while considerably reducing its weight. It also improves the performance of other materials, enabling them to achieve their full potential.

The niobium-enhanced steel is the brainchild of its research and development organisation, the ‘Instituto Hercílio Randon’ (IHR), which has premises at the University of Caxias do Sul and at the Randon Technological Center in nearby Farroupilha. At the IAA, Truck & Bus Builder met with Dr Joel Boaretto, who is the IHR’s Science & Innovation Director and who completed his doctoral research on the subject of nanotechnology and composite structures. He has played a key role in developing a method to produce nanoparticles on a large scale and introduce niobium nanoparticles into steel, cast iron, and special alloys.  He explained to T&BB that niobium has the potential not only to improve the mechanical properties of metallic alloys – resulting in lighter and stronger end-products – but also to enhance the charging properties of an electric vehicle battery cell.