Green Buffers wins Swedish Steel Prize 2023 for use of energy-absorbing high-strength steel in train coupling tech

The Swedish Steel Prize 2023 winner is Green Buffers from Sweden.

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

The winner receives a diploma, a statuette by the sculptor Jörg Jeschke, and 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.

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

Crash management and 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,” said 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.

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, 2023.

The innovative train coupling technology consists of deformable units with steel profiles that absorb impact forces, distributing the energy and minimizing peak forces.