Sup3rForm at a quick glance
Optimizing 3rd Generation Quenching and Partitioning (Q&P) and medium-Mn steels to attain improved in-use properties and foster their widespread deployment in the automotive industry
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Generating a comprehensive understanding on the relationship between microstructure and mechanical performance of Q&P and M-Mn steels.
The Sup3rForm project is implementing a multiscale material testing and modelling approach to identify the main damage and deformation mechanisms of these new generation steels and comprehensively understand the intrinsic relationship between their complex microstructures and critical in-use properties, such as formability, fracture toughness, fatigue and crashworthiness.
Furthermore, Sup3rForm is developing advanced experimental and numerical methods which will contribute to accurately predicting in-use properties and part performance at early design stages, reducing thus the time to market of new high-performance steel products.
Sup3rForm will demonstrate the industrial viability of Q&P and medium-Mn steels for manufacturing high added-value automotive parts at low cost and with a lower carbon footprint over the vehicle life cycle (anticipated environmental benefits are linked to the reduced component weight by downgauging, up to 20% weight reduction compared to current steel solutions).
The knowledge gained by Sup3rForm will be essential to comprehend the mechanical behaviour of existing grades and guarantee their safe implementation, as well as to guide and optimize the microstructural design of future advanced steel developments.
Key Data
Why Sup3rForm?
To meet the Green Deal objectives of drastically reducing CO2 from transport and the increasingly stringent safety regulations in the automotive sector, there is an increasing need for lighter, more efficient, safer and economic vehicles. This is only possible by the implementation of new high-performance steel solutions, such as 3rd Generation AHSS, with higher strength and crashworthiness.
Sup3rForm activities
What are we focused on?
Formability of Q&P and M-Mn steels
Investigating the global and local formability of new Q&P and M-Mn steels, and determining the main damage and deformation mechanisms.
Fracture toughness
Performing investigations to better understand the deformation and fracture mechanisms taking place during the fracture process in Q&P steels.
Fatigue
Providing further knowledge on the influence of microstructure on the fatigue resistance of Q&P and M-Mn steels.
Weldability
Investigating different experimental and numerical methods for an accurate description of the spot weld performance of Q&P and M-Mn steels under both quasi-static and dynamic loads.
Crash resistance
Generating relevant insights about the crashworthiness of Q&P and M-Mn steels and the influence of microstructure on crush ductility.
Microstructural modelling of AHSS
Developing high-resolution digital microstructural models with dislocation-based crystal plasticity and damage model, to represent the complicated microstructure of Q&P and M-Mn steels and the underlying mechanisms.
Edge fracture and crash modelling
Boosting a fracture-energy criterion to predict the energy absorbed at crack nucleation and following crack propagation.
Sup3rForm objectives
PROJECT PHASES
Microstructural characterization
Characterization of in-use properties
Modelling and simulation
Industrial implementation
EXPECTED RESULTS
Relevant scientific knowledge
New 3rd generation Q&P and M-Mn steels
Successful automotive part demonstrator
New microstructural predictive models
New experimental and modelling characterization techniques for AHSS
CONSORTIUM
Sup3rForm partners cover the entire value chain of the automotive industry with specific knowledge and experience in complementary fields, with a solid R&D background and experience in European multi-partner projects.
The Sup3rForm consortium, coordinated by Eurecat Technology Centre, is made up of eight partners from Austria, Finland, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden.
Eurecat is the leading Technology Centre of Catalonia, providing the industrial and business sector with differential technology and advanced expertise.
The centre offers solutions to their innovation needs and boosts their competitiveness in a fast-paced environment. It brings together the expertise of 650 professionals who generate a volume of income of 50M€ per year. Serving more than a thousand companies, Eurecat is involved in 200 projects of R&D national and international with high strategic value.
Contribution to Sup3rForm
EUT will undertake project coordination and will lead the tasks focused on fatigue, fracture toughness and edge fracture resistance characterization. EUT will be also responsible for micromechanical characterization of the investigated multiphase 3rd Gen AHSSs by means of nanoindentation and in-situ SEM testing.
The consortium CELLS manages the Spanish ALBA Synchrotron Light Source, which has currently ten operational state-of-the-art beamlines, comprising infrared, soft and hard X-rays, which are devoted mainly to biosciences, condensed matter and materials science, in particular metal and alloys have been studied in the material science powder diffraction beamline. ALBA-CELLS provides high-end technological and scientific services to more than 2400 researchers per year and to more than 75 companies. It is also co-leading the SME industry services provided by the European light sources through several European projects, such as LEAPS-INNOV or ReMade@ARI.
Contribution to Sup3rForm
ALBA Synchrotron is in charge of carrying out in-situ X-Ray diffraction experiments at the ALBA synchrotron in the studied steels to analyse in detail the evolution of stress/strain-induced retained austenite to martensite transformation during crack propagation.
voestalpine is a leading global steel and technology group with around 500 companies and locations in more than 50 countries on all five continents with it’s headquarter situated in Linz, Austria. The voestalpine group is organized into four divisions, where the steel division is the group’s largest one in terms of revenue (6.7 billion € in the 2021/22 FY). The steel division is a global market leader for manufacturing high-quality steel products such as heavy plate, steel strip and cast parts. The steel division comprises research-intensive companies and is involved in cooperations with roughly 50 universities and research institutes all over the globe.
Contribution to Sup3rForm
Within Sup3rForm project, voestalpine is providing cold-rolled steel grades referring to the 3rd generation advanced high strength steels for structure-properties investigations. In this context, voestalpine is performing the microstructural characterization of all steel grades involved in this project. Here, special emphasis is lying on the volume fraction, size and morphology of the individual phase constituents. Furthermore, voestalpine is leading the tasks related to crash performance, where the crash behaviour of the individual steel grades will be analysed in detail.
ArcelorMittal Maizières Research is ArcelorMittal’s largest research campus.
ArcelorMittal is a world leading steel maker serving all major global markets and the largest steel producer in the EU. Its research and development division, global R&D, employs around 1600 full-time researchers in its 14 worldwide research sites in 9 countries. Around 600 people are dedicated to the automotive market whose role is to adapt steel to the evolution of car industry needs.
Contribution to Sup3rForm
The role of ArcelorMittal in this project is firstly to prepare and supply the 3rd Gen AHSS steel blanks. AM is leading the tasks related to microstructural and mechanical characterization using EBSD, X-Ray diffraction and uniaxial tensile tests. AM will also work on the local formability assessment through performing V-bending tests according to VDA 238-100. Furthermore, AM will perform bending impact tests to evaluate the crash behavior of the investigated steels.
Centro Ricerche FCA (CRF) is an industrial research organization providing R&D and innovation services for the different companies of the FCA group and its automotive suppliers. The core competence of CRF is centred on land transportation and advanced technologies, materials, and processes for the aforementioned organizations. CRF is equipped with state-of-the-art laboratories for the researching, engineering, and testing of material, processes, and technologies, from the long term research up to the materials and processes validation and standardization, capable to guaranteeing a prompt transfer to the sectorial product design functions. In the project, the following CRF departments will participate – Metal Alloys and Surface Treatment, Physical and Chemical Testing, Environment and Legislation, New materials and process technologies and the Manufacturing Research Business Line
Contribution to Sup3rForm
CRF work will focus on characterizing global and local formability, understanding the influence of stress state and stress triaxiality on microstructure evolution and ductile fracture, and determining the weldability of Q&P and M-Mn steels. CRF will perform the fatigue test to obtain the relevant ε-N curves for each steel.
MA S.r.l (MA) is the automotive division of CLN Group.
MA is a leader in the production of metal parts for automotive for every type of vehicles (passenger car, light commercial vehicles, heavy truck).
Contribution to Sup3rForm
The work of MA will be focused on the virtual and experimental validation of the proposed steel solutions for manufacturing lightweight automotive parts.
MA will lead the forming simulations of the selected prototype components and the semi-industrial stamping trials.
MA will also collaborate in the implementation of new damage and fracture models in forming simulations and will study the viability of implementing the new steel grades in industrial stamping lines with current production tools.
Luleå University of Technology shapes the future through innovative education and ground-breaking research results, and based on the Arctic region, we create global social benefit.
Luleå University of Technology is in strong growth with world-leading competence in several research areas. It shapes the future through innovative education and ground-breaking research results, and based on the Arctic region, we create global social benefit. Their scientific and artistic research and education are conducted in close collaboration with international, national and regional companies, public actors and leading universities. Luleå University of Technology has a total turnover of SEK 1.9 billion per year. They currently have 1,840 employees and 17,670 students.
Contribution to Sup3rForm
LTU will lead dynamic properties characterization and crash modelling tasks. LTU will work on the development of damage evolution models based on fracture mechanics for edge fracture and crash failure behaviour prediction.
Aalto University is a Finnish multidisciplinary university founded in 2010 by merging The Helsinki School of Economics, The University of Art and Design Helsinki, and Helsinki University of Technology. Aalto has nearly 11 000 students and 4000 employees, including 400 professors. With 37% of our academic faculty coming from outside Finland, Aalto is a highly international community with a strong academic standing. Aalto is particularly important for engineering in Finland, educating more than 40% of the country’s engineering graduates.
Contribution to Sup3rForm
Materials to Products Group from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Aalto specializes in integrating multiscale material modeling with advanced experimental characterization, leveraging deep expertise in Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME). In Sup3rForm, the group will focus on the development of microstructure-sensitive computational material models and data-driven scale bridging approaches to capture the quantitative correlation between the microstructure and mechanical properties of materials.
NEWS & EVENTS
ALBA-CELLS presents Sup3rForm at the AMatS2025 Conference
The Sup3rForm project was presented during AMatS 2025, the 4th conference on Advanced Materials in Spain, taking place from November 24 – 26 at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Marc Raventós, project partner from ALBA-CELLS, participated in the session “Steels and Materials for Industry”, delivering a talk which detailed [...]
Pioneering safer, lighter, and more sustainable vehicles in Europe
In the shift towards sustainable mobility, the automotive industry faces a complex challenge: vehicles must become lighter to reduce emissions, safer to protect occupants, and more sustainable to reduce their environmental footprint. Achieving this balance requires advances not only in materials, but also in manufacturing processes, structural design, and [...]
Eurecat-coordinated projects driving innovation in sustainable steel presented at Metal Madrid
Eurecat-coordinated projects committed to advancing circular and decarbonised steel technologies for future mobility, sustainable energy and smart manufacturing have been showcased at Metal Madrid 2025, part of the Advanced Manufacturing Madrid Exhibition, held in Madrid, Spain, on 5–6 November 2025. As one of the most relevant European industrial events, [...]
Eurecat showcases sustainable steel innovations at SteelTech Congress 2025
Eurecat has participated as exhibitor at the Steel Tech 2025, held at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre from October 21 – 23. At the event, Eurecat highlighted its technological capabilities in the steel sector, presenting information on several EU-funded projects including CiSMA, COOPHS, Safe&Clean, SuPreAM, Sup3rForm, NewAIMS, HELIX, DURALINK, Steel4Fatigue, [...]
Participation of the Sup3rForm project at EUROMAT 2025
The Sup3rForm project was presented during EUROMAT 2025, the 18th European Congress and Exhibition on Advanced Materials and Processes, held from 14–18 September in Granada, Spain. Leila Panahi, project partner and industrial researcher at ALBA Synchrotron, attended the session “Artificial Intelligence, Modelling and Data Science in Advanced Alloy and Process Design”, introducing Sup3rForm [...]
Sup3rForm coordinator presents new insights on AHSS behaviour at IDDRG 2025 in Lisbon
Sup3rForm took part in the 44th Conference of the International Deep Drawing Research Group (IDDRG 2025), held from 1–5 June 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal. During the conference, David Frómeta, project’s coordinator from Eurecat, presented Sup3rForm’s latest contribution to the field: “Enhanced ductility and fracture resistance classification maps for advanced [...]
Eurecat and ALBA Synchrotron showcase four collaborative projects during ALBA Open Day 2025
On May 24, 2025, the ALBA Synchrotron opened again its doors to the public for a new Open Day, an event that has been opening up science to the society since 2012. This edition received over 2,000 visitors, especially families, and provided them with insights into research projects carried out in [...]
Sup3rForm project presented at a CENIM’s workshop on fracture toughness in advanced high-strength steels
Sup3rForm was presented during a workshop on fracture toughness in advanced high-strength steels held at the Spanish National Center for Metallurgical Research – CENIM facilities in Madrid, on 24th January 2025. Eurecat’s Head of Mechanical Behaviour, David Frómeta, introduced Sup3rForm together with other research projects coordinated by Eurecat using [...]
Sup3rForm presentation in the annual TGA4 meeting
The Sup3rForm project has been showcased at the annual TGA4 Steel Applications and Solutions for Existing and New Markets meeting, held online on December 12th, 2024. David Frómeta, Head of Mechanical Behaviour of the Unit of Metallic and Ceramic Materials from Eurecat, represented Sup3rForm as the project’s coordinator and [...]
Eurecat-coordinated projects driving innovation for industry decarbonisation presented at Metal Madrid
Five projects committed to the green transformation of the steel and aluminum industry – COOPHS, CISMA, FlexCrash, SALEMA and ZEvRA - have been featured at Metal Madrid 2024, part of the Advanced Manufacturing Madrid exhibition. This fair has been held in Madrid, Spain, the 20th and 21st of November, [...]
Eurecat and ALBA Synchrotron showcase four collaborative projects during ALBA Open Day 2024
On November 16, 2024, the ALBA Synchrotron opened again its doors to the public for its annual Open Day, an event that has been opening up science to the society since 2012. The 2024 edition included ten interactive demonstrations and experiments, providing visitors with insights into research projects carried [...]
Exhibiting two Sup3rForm posters at AMatS 2024
Leila Panahi, Industrial Researcher from ALBA Synchrotron, and Martin Børstad Eriksen, Applied AI Research Scientist from the Port d’Informació Científica (PIC), participated in the 3rd Conference on Advanced Materials in Spain (AMatS 2024), held on November 12th-14th in Valladolid. During a poster exhibition session, they presented a couple of [...]
Seminar on steel metallurgy and advanced microstructure held at Eurecat
Eurecat facilities in Manresa, Spain, hosted the seminar “Steel Metallurgy and Advanced Microstructures”, a collaborative event bringing together research projects in the steel industry for networking. The seminar featured presentations from leading experts in the field, including Prof. Francisca Garcia-Caballero and Dr. Carlos Capdevila (CSIC/CENIM), Dr. Radhakanta Rana (Tata [...]
Presenting seven RFCS projects coordinated by Eurecat to the Cluster of the Automotive Industry of Catalonia
Eurecat organised a meeting with representatives from the Cluster of the Automotive Industry of Catalonia (CIAC) at the facilities of the centre in Manresa (Spain) on July 10th, 2024. The purpose of the meeting was to demonstrate the efforts made by Eurecat to promote R+D+I projects, laboratories, materials and [...]
Exhibiting a Sup3rForm poster during a seminar on correlative material characterisation
Marc Raventós, Postdoctoral researcher from ALBA Synchrotron, attended the seminar “Frontiers in Correlative Material Characterisation: Samples, Techniques, Instrumentation and Data Management”, organised by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation between April 2nd-5th in Bonn (Germany). During the second poster session of the event, on April 3rd, he exhibited the [...]
Six RFCS projects coordinated by Eurecat presented at the SteelTech Congress
Eurecat has participated as exhibitor of the Steel Tech 2023 this week in Bilbao Exhibition Center from October 25-27. Amongst the center capacities in the steel sector, information on six Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS)-funded projects COOPHS, HELIX, SupreAM, NewAIMS, Sup3rForm and MiPRE was displayed and presented. [...]
European consortium to study the optimization of third generation and high resistance steels to boost their use in the automotive industry
The Sup3rForm project seeks to demonstrate the industrial viability of third-generation quenching and partitioning steels and medium-manganese steels for the manufacture of high added value automotive parts at low cost and with a lower carbon footprint. The outcomes obtained by the project will help to consolidate the role of [...]
The Sup3rForm project kick-starts
The Sup3rForm project has kicked off on July 4th 2023 in the facilities of Eurecat in Manresa (Spain). This project aims to exploit the full potential of 3rd Generation Q&P and medium-Mn steels with superior formability for lightweight structural applications in future mobility, adressing the need for lighter, more [...]
RESOURCES
Here is a list of Sup3rForm work packages and deliverables.
WP1 – Project management, coordination and dissemination
D1.1 – Comprehensive overview of the project
D1.2 – Risk management plan
D1.3 – Communication and dissemination plan I
D1.4 – Exploitation plan
D1.5 – Communication and dissemination plan II
D1.6 – Publishable report
WP2 – Microstructural and mechanical characterization
D2.1 – Report on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Q&P and M-Mn steels
WP3 – Formability and weldability
D3.1 – Report on formability of 3rd Gen AHSS
D3.2 – Determination of welding process parameters and mechanical performance of welded joints
WP4 – Fatigue and fracture resistance
D4.1 – Report on fatigue and fracture behaviour
WP5 – Crash performance
D5.1 – Report on dynamic material performance
D5.2 – Report on impact resistance
WP6 – Multiscale modelling and simulation
D6.1 – Scale bridging from micro to macro by microstructure-sensitive modelling and verification by experiments
D6.2 – Virtual stamping and crash testing using a fracture energy-based modelling approach of automotive prototype components
WP7 – Industrial implementation and Life Cycle Assessment
D7.1 – Experimental stamping and crash testing of automotive prototype components
D7.2 – Industrial guidelines for the implementation of 3rd Gen AHSS in serial production
D7.3 – Report on LCA and DNSH compliance of the proposed solutions
Download below the Sup3rForm promotional materials, containing key information about the project.
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See below a selection of articles featuring Sup3rForm.
July 15th, 2025 | Interempresas
La innovación en metales camina hacia una industria más sostenible (Spanish)
May 8th, 2024 | Interempresas
April 1st, 2024 | Metalindustria
Avances en la optimización del acero para la descarbonización de la industria de la automoción (Spanish)
November 14th, 2023 | Interempresas
Eurecat lidera la optimización de componentes de acero y ladescarbonización de su fabricación (Spanish)
October 26th, 2023 | Metales & Máquinas
Eurecat lidera tres proyectos europeos que impulsan la optimización de componentes de acero (Spanish)
October 26th, 2023 | Industry Talks
October 26th, 2023 | Regió 7
Eurecat Manresa lidera 3 projectes europeus amb 6,9 milions de pressupost (Catalan)
October 25th, 2023 | Nació Manresa
Eurecat Manresa lidera tres projectes europeus que impulsen l’optimització de components d’acer (Catalan)
See below all the Sup3rForm scientific papers:
Enhanced ductility and fracture classification maps for advanced high-strength steels considering local ductility and fracture toughness
Proceedings of the 44th Conference of the International Deep Drawing Research Group (IDDRG 2025), Lisbon, Portugal, June 2025
Alternative classification diagrams considering global and local ductility have been introduced recently in order to better describe the overall formability of advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs). These diagrams combine different parameters obtained from uniaxial tensile tests to rank steel formability and establish objective performance indicators. However, such classification schemes may fail to estimate fracture performance in certain failure modes related to the material’s damage tolerance and crack propagation resistance, which is fundamental for a safe implementation of high-strength steels in structural and safety related applications. The present work proposes a new classification concept for AHSSs, considering not only global and local ductility but also fracture toughness. The proposed criteria aim to provide a more comprehensive definition of AHSSs formability and cracking resistance, considering intrinsic material parameters. Different strain- and energy-based parameters are analysed and their relevance to material ranking is discussed. The study is based on the analysis of 25 AHSSs, including Dual Phase, Complex Phase, TRIP, TRIP-aided Bainitic Ferritic, Press hardened steels, Quenching&Partitioning and Medium-Mn steels with tensile strengths ranging from 800 to 1500 MPa.
Failure mechanisms in quenching and partitioning (Q&P) steel under varying stress states
Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 236 (2025)
CONTACT US
The Sup3rForm project has received funding from the European Union’s Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS): project num. 101112540. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.