What if the biggest lever for decarbonization isn’t sustainability, but engineering?
Most companies talk about climate neutrality. But very few are willing to rethink how they engineer, build, and operate. At thyssenkrupp, engineering is part of our DNA, and through the years we’ve learned one thing: Decarbonization doesn’t start with CO₂ targets alone. It is supported and driven forward by digital engineering.
Why Digital Engineering is Becoming the Real Game Changer
Industry is facing one of its biggest transformations ever. To stay competitive, it’s no longer enough to optimize existing processes. We need to rethink them – holistically, digitally, and with AI at the core. Christian Gondek, Head of Digitalization & IT at thyssenkrupp Decarbon Technologies, summarizes: “For us, digitalization is the fuel for our future business models.” And that shift is already happening. Classic engineering is no longer separate from digital technologies. It’s merging into something new: A digital DNA that connects data, systems, and decisions in real time.
The Biggest Misconception about Digitalization
When talking about digitalization, many people tend to think of IT infrastructure, automation in back-office functions, or administrative processes. But that’s not where the real impact lies. Christian Gondek explains: “Of course, we also use artificial intelligence to optimize administrative processes. But our greatest value drivers lie where the heart of our company beats: in engineering, production, and chemical processes.” At thyssenkrupp, we utilize data and networking not as an end in itself, but to elevate our core competence - the construction of complex, large-scale plants for hydrogen, ammonia, or green polymers - to a new level. It's all about precision and data streams that flow as tirelessly as the materials in our plants. Our engineering expertise is the foundation, the absolute “must-have” that enables us to even consider AI and automation in other operational and strategic areas.
Why Most Digital Initiatives Fail
In the industry, we often see the same pattern. Here's a smart tool for purchasing, another software for maintenance, and a third for engineering. Each solution works for itself. But they don’t create transformation. They create silos.
Real industrial transformation requires connection. Gondek and all IT teams in the Decarbon Technologies segment are working consistently to build a so-called “digital thread.”
The “Digital Thread”: Connecting What Truly Matters
“We believe that we will achieve real progress when we manage to connect all parts of the value chain in real time,” states Gondek. Only when the right data is available at the right time and in the right place can the added value be created that transforms 90,000 employees worldwide into an agile unit.
This digital thread runs from the initial idea in development through the construction of the plant to operation at the customer's site. The goal: a “connected plant” in which data is not only collected but used intelligently to optimize performance and prevent errors.
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From AI Hype to Real Impact: Physical AI
A keyword in thyssenkrupp Decarbon Technologies' strategy is “physical AI.” We are moving away from theoretical AI models toward applied intelligence in the physical world.
“We see the real revolution in the symbiosis of AI and robotics,” emphasizes Gondek. It's not about hype, but about tangible results:
This shows that engineering today is hybrid. It is the ability not only to build systems that function efficiently, but also to write algorithms that continuously improve them. We orchestrate the best solutions available on the market—often in collaboration with technology partners—to deliver tailor-made results to our customers.
The Real Challenge: It’s not Technology
The best technology is useless without the people who operate it. Christian Gondek, who has been helping to shape the digital DNA at thyssenkrupp since early 2024, is convinced: “Digitalization is 20 percent technology and 80 percent culture and methodology.”
And that’s where it gets uncomfortable. Because transformation requires focus, prioritization, and the courage to leave old paths behind. “If I build a car today, I have to define the right platform without starting halfway through building a motorcycle,” Gondek says, drawing a vivid comparison. This focus is crucial. It's about setting up an organization in such a way that the horsepower really gets onto the road.
At thyssenkrupp, this means a new form of collaboration: IT and digitalization are no longer separate, but operate as an agile unit. Making mistakes, experimenting, learning, and then scaling up—that is the rhythm of this marathon.
Building a Digital Ecosystem: “DT AI Cosmos”
So, where is all of this heading? At thyssenkrupp Decarbon Technologies, we are building what we call “DT AI Cosmos.” A digital ecosystem based on the pillars:
What This Means for the Future of Industry
Digitalization is not just a technical upgrade. It is the foundation for the future viability of our industry, scalable innovation, and ultimately the key to decarbonization. In order to actively drive innovation, the right mindset is crucial. Or as Christian Gondek puts it: “If we continue to generate fun and enthusiasm on this journey, then we have done everything right.” This is precisely the attitude that characterizes thyssenkrupp: We combine tradition with transformation and use our engineering expertise to develop solutions that are not only precise and connected, but also created with genuine passion.
How do you experience the fusion of classic engineering and AI in your everyday work? Is “physical AI” already part of your reality or still a vision for the future?
True. Very true. Engineering has always been the most efficient answer to a given crisis. Like the global warming crisis that we are currently facing. Decarbonization can be made in a range of different ways. One is using less energy, another is to capture the carbon. But perhaps the most effecient way lies in another branch of engineering. Predictive Maintenance limits the emmiting of carbon diaoxide in very efficient way. Imagine how many spareparts are being thrown out without any othe reason than the one that the equipment manufacturer has stated it in the annual plan for repair. No need to replace something that is running perfectly well. No need to have unneccesary planned stand-stills and no need to have a lot of spareparts stock. So in the case of predictive maintenance money and environment goes hand in hand. Very well indeed. #predictivemaintenance #greentech #hoejlundhviidconsult
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Christian Gondek - building a "digital thread" to connect silos is a necessary step. But your conclusion exposes the fatal architectural flaw of most industrial transformations: "Digitalization is 20 percent technology and 80 percent culture." If a system requires an 80% cultural shift to succeed, the architecture is broken. It means the system does not enforce physics; it relies on human compliance. It means the liability for execution still rests squarely on the employee. That is exactly why corporate digital initiatives stall and fail. True physical AI - or what we at immo.quick Core call Sovereign Infrastructure - does not ask for cultural adoption. It eliminates the psychological barrier through mathematics. When the machine enforces the law at T=0 via a hard, inescapable physical boundary (gate), the human is freed from the burden of execution risk. Cultural acceptance is not a prerequisite for transformation. It is the instant, automatic byproduct of Liability Removal. If you rely on culture to drive transformation, you are just building dashboards. If you forge transformation into deterministic iron, you build Machine Law.
The shift by thyssenkrupp toward #PhysicalAI is the logical next step for the industry, but it exposes the fragility of current governance models. In the physical domain, 'probability' is not enough; safety demands State Sovereignty. Merging AI with heavy engineering requires what we define in the SSS (Structural State Systems) framework: the guarantee that no system state is executed unless it is structurally admissible and explicitly authorized at the commit edge. Real impact will not come just from the connection, but from the implementation of a Participation Boundary (PB) that prevents non-deterministic influences from leaking into the control of critical assets. Without existential sovereignty, PhysicalAI remains an operational safety risk.
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