As a result, new innovations in battery technology are beginning to open up new possibilities for not just the automotive industry, but for consumer electronics, wearables, drones and much more. Such industries are positioned for growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and supplying enough lithium to meet the growing demand through sustainable practices is posing a challenge.  

SEE ALSO: The Fuel of Tomorrow: Mining Lithium for Tomorrow’s Cars

New Developments in Lithium Batteries

Today, almost every automaker is invested in EVs, and it will be batteries and software, not brakes and engines, that will play a decisive role in the success of future fleets. The biggest challenge for battery manufacturers is to make a high-capacity battery that can charge in a short period of time, but still be lightweight and compact at the same time.

Solid-state lithium-ion batteries are lighter, more compact and safer than liquid-state batteries. (Source: UPS Battery Center)

Solid-state lithium-ion batteries are a feasible solution. These super-capacity batteries replace traditional semi-liquid electrolytes with solid electrolytes that allow for faster charging times (about 7 minutes) and are not susceptible to explosion on impact as liquid-state electrolytes are. Solid-state batteries can also operate in dynamic temperatures between -30 degrees Celsius and 100 degrees Celsius. Plus, they are far lighter and take up less space in an EV. Toyota has announced they will use solid-state lithium-ion batteries in their EVs starting from 2020.

Professor Yang’s flexible lithium-ion batteries are composed of stiff and flexible parts to resemble the human spine. (Source: eeNewsAnalog)

Besides cars, lithium-ion batteries are great for portable electronic devices, and a new invention looks to widen the applicability of the batteries. Assistant Professor Yuan Yang of Material Science and Engineering at Columbia University recently came up with a flexible type of lithium-ion battery that resembles the human spine. He first got the idea for the design while doing sit-ups at the gym when he noticed how his flexible spine allowed his body to move in various ways. Yang applied the idea to lithium-ion batteries by rearranging the traditional battery in a vertical structure made of stiff and flexible parts, just like the human spine. The end result was a flexible battery with more than 85 percent of the energy density found in a standard battery. The flexible and energy-dense batteries are expected to open up new possibilities for consumer technology designs and further accelerate the growing wearables market.

SolidEnergy Systems lithium-metal batteries are energy-dense and one of the smallest batteries available. (Source: Digital Trends)

There’s another up-and-coming invention that makes use of solid-state lithium batteries. SolidEnergy Systems recently received USD 34 million in funding to commercialize their lithium-metal batteries, bringing total funding to USD 50 million. The batteries have twice as much energy density as lithium-ion batteries, making them perfect for devices that have battery size limitations. By replacing graphite with lithium metal foil for the negative electrodes, the company was able to pack more energy into a smaller space. The resulting energy density is 450 watt hours per kilogram and 1200 watt hours per liter. For now, it is being sold to drone companies and the makers are working on lithium-metal batteries for wearables and EVs.

Sustainable Lithium Extraction

In the midst of development and advances in lithium batteries, the question to ask is where is all the lithium coming from, and is there enough to feed growing demand? The answer is yes, there is more than enough lithium in different parts of the world, but the problem is that there are not enough mines to extract all the lithium in demand.

Lithium is a growing source for jobs in South America due to the high demand. (Source: Twitter/@BrianDColwell)

More than half of the world’s lithium reserves are in South America, more specifically in Chile and Argentina, but Australia is the biggest producer. Even with new mines opening up at a frequent pace, lithium extraction isn’t easy. Political, social and environmental hurdles have led to unstable output. Coupled with the exponential growth of the EV market, the price of lithium carbonate has more than doubled from 2011 to 2016.

Another concern is the environmental impact of lithium extraction and production. Critics have pointed out that raw materials, such as lithium, used to produce eco-friendly batteries have a large carbon footprint on their own.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon holding lithium during his visit to PosLX, POSCO’s battery production factory in Korea.

That’s why earlier this year, steelmaker POSCO opened up PosLX, Korea’s first lithium plant, as part of the move to expand its non-steel businesses and make headways into the batteries market. The new plant has an annual production capacity of 2,500 tons and will use POSCO’s innovative technology, developed in-house. POSCO’s eco-friendly extraction technology entails extracting lithium from water, and takes anywhere between 8 hours up to a month to complete. Traditional evaporation methods take 12 to 18 months to produce the same amount. Moreover, POSCO’s technology can obtain a purity rate of 99.9 percent, as well as a recovery rate of over 80 percent.

In addition, POSCO has developed a way to extract lithium phosphate, a raw material of lithium carbonate, from used rechargeable batteries. The lithium carbonate produced from recycled secondary batteries are equal in purity, charge, discharge efficiency and capacity as existing lithium carbonate, but at a lower cost to the environment.  

SEE ALSO: POSCO’s Innovation Shapes the Ever-Growing Lithium Market

Going forward, POSCO plans to increase its lithium production capacity to 40,000 tons per year to supply the increasing demand from new-growth industries and ensure a sustainable future of renewable energy.

Cover photo courtesy of Cleantechnica.

The 2018 North American International Auto Show brought the biggest names in the auto industry together for a show and tell. (Source: News Atlas)

Continuing on what we saw during the past few years, the focus this year again was on improving safety, performance and design, all at the lightest weight possible for fuel economy. While there have been debates in the past about the best lightweight material, there was a clear winner at this year’s NAIAS. Almost every car, including the 2018 Car of the Year, was clad in advanced high-strength steel (AHHS) and significantly lighter than their predecessors.

Take a look at some of this year’s steel-clad cars.

SEE ALSO: 5 Reasons Why AHSS Tops the Market for Lightweight Auto Materials

2018 Car of the Year: Honda Accord

The 2018 Honda Accord took home the prestigious title of Car of the Year due to its lightweight and improved strength and performance. The 2018 model contains 29 percent ultra-high-strength steel (UHSS) in its chassis and 54.2 percent high strength steel (HSS). With these applications, the Honda Accord achieved a weight reduction of 110 to 176 pounds while improving its body torsional rigidity by 32 percent and its bending rigidity by 24 percent.

2019 Chevy Silverado

The all-new Chevy Silverado comes armed with plenty of steel. One of the features that contribute to its improved safety is the bed floor made of roll-formed HSS. Also, 80 percent of its fully-boxed steel frame is made of HSS and AHSS forms the Silverado’s safety cage. Overall, the new model is taller and 7 inches wider than before. Nevertheless, the all-new Silverado is 450 pounds lighter with a 10 percent increase in torsional rigidity than the previous model.

2019 Dodge Ram 1500

The 2019 Dodge Ram 1500 is another steel-intensive vehicle revealed at NAIAS. About 98 percent of this year’s model is made from HSS, and is the lightest, longest and most efficient frame in the half-ton truck segment. The wheelbase and crew cab is 4 inches longer than the previous model. The Dodge Ram 1500 also has several new safety features. The unique front-splayed frame rail technology, frame-mounted HSS tire blockers and fully-boxed side rails allow the car to absorb more energy in case of impact and minimize structural damage.

2019 Kia Forte

The 2019 Kia Forte is taller, wider and longer than before with 54 percent of its chassis made of AHSS. It also has a 16 percent stiffer body-in-white and the new seat frames are lighter yet stronger as Kia has its eyes on top ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the second consecutive year. The lighter and stronger vehicle will consume about 9 to 20 percent less fuel as well as drop noise levels by 5 decibels.

Why the Steel Overload?

As mentioned above, the latest cars are steel-intensive and automakers increasing the amount of HSS, UHSS and AHSS in their mix of materials. Of course, the main reason for this is steel’s innate properties that make it the ideal solution for automakers looking to cut back on weight and still satisfy safety standards. However, automakers also learned a good lesson from automakers who chose another popular lightweight material – aluminum.

SEE ALSO: Materials Matter: Why Steel Beats Aluminum in the Sustainability Debate

Back in 2014, Ford released its F-150 with an all-aluminum body. The move was bold and the cars sold fast as it was a whole 700 pounds lighter than previous models. Consumers got to drive away with a drastically improved fuel economy, but it didn’t take long for them to realize the big, expensive problem with aluminum bodies: repairs.

The 2015 Ford F-150 has an all-aluminum body. (Source: Hennessey Performance)

Although steel and aluminum are similar in terms of its lightweight properties, aluminum reacts differently than steel under heat. Aluminum does not have metal memory, while steel does, making it hard to reshape and repair following an accident. Welding aluminum also takes much more skill and precision than steel, and there are few repair shops that are equipped to handle aluminum. As a result, drivers not only have a hard time finding repair shops for their aluminum cars, they have to pay a hefty price for repairs compared to repairs for steel cars. For example, Jalopnik reported one of the first cases of the F-150 repairs back in 2015 cost USD 17,000 and a month-long repair time.

Of course, this was a rare case highlighting the steep learning curve of repairing aluminum vehicles, but it also highlights the fact that steel is still the norm when it comes to automotive materials, and judging from the 2018 NAIAS, it’s going to stay that way for quite some time.

Cover photo courtesy of Honda of Lincoln.

More and more automakers are adding EVs to their fleet. (Source: Engineering and Technology)

While all this sounds promising for the environment, EVs don’t automatically translate into lower GHG emissions. According to World Auto Steel (WAS), the emissions from vehicle production will be greater than the amount of emissions from driving. As such, it is becoming increasingly important for manufacturers, policymakers and consumers alike to view material options by considering its life cycle assessment (LCA).

World Auto Steel Case Study

WAS conducted a case study in which they compared two popular lightweight materials for EVS; aluminum and Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS). The study followed the University of California Santa Barbara Automotive Energy & GHG Model (UCSB Model) for a comprehensive analysis of each material’s total energy use throughout its entire life cycle, from production to end of life recycling. For the study, WAS examined 1,000,000 BEVs of equal range that were made up of either entirely aluminum or AHSS.

BEVs made of AHSS require over 15 percent less energy than aluminum cars. (Source: World Auto Steel)

The study found that automakers can make over 17 percent more BEVs made of AHSS than aluminum BEVs with the same amount of energy. In other words, with the energy it takes to make 1 million aluminum BEVs, automakers can make 1.17 million AHSS BEVs.

Why is AHSS More Energy Efficient?

Aluminum production requires 8 times more energy per kilogram than steel production because the production process of aluminum is much more complicated and involves more steps than steel production. The aluminum BEVs in the study used up 30 percent more energy than those made from AHSS throughout its entire life cycle. Plus steel is 100 percent recyclable and can be reused almost indefinitely.

There are many sources of emissions output involved in the entire life cycle of a vehicle. (Source: World Auto Steel)

This poses a serious need to reexamine existing policies and regulations that only seek to reduce tailpipe emissions. By also taking into account emissions from the production of materials all the way to how a car is disposed at the end of its life cycle, automakers can grasp a better picture of the real impact of their choices on the environment.

A Sustainable Choice

As a solution-providing partner for automakers, steelmaker POSCO designed the perfect AHSS for cars that is lightweight, extremely strong, highly formable and environmentally friendly. POSCO GIGA STEEL belongs to the highest category for tensile strength of greater than 1GPa (Gigapascal). It can withstand more than 100 kg of force per square millimeter, making it 3 times stronger than aluminum. It is also 3.5 times cheaper than aluminum and 2.1 times cheaper to manufacture.

SEE ALSO: Infographic: Driving the Future with POSCO GIGA STEEL

POSCO GIGA STEEL is three times stronger than aluminum.

In 2016, POSCO sold 9 million tons of steel sheets for cars, making up 10 percent of the entire global automotive market for steel sheets. POSCO GIGA STEEL was designed to further improve the performance and efficiency of POSCO’s auto partners around the world. As the auto industry heads towards a future where environmentally-friendly EVs become the norm, POSCO will strive to equip its auto partners with the materials and tools necessary to stay ahead and competitive.

Stephen Zoepf is the executive director at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University.

To kick off the forum, Stephen Zoepf, executive director at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University gave a presentation called “Electric Vehicles: Adapting to a Changing Marketplace” to share his insights on what future markets will look like and implications for automakers, suppliers as well as consumers.  

Here are the key takeaways.

The Future is Going to Look Very Different

According to a report by RethinkX, an independent research group, 6 trillion U.S. passenger miles will be driven in 2030, up 50 percent from 2021. Of those miles, 95 percent will be driven in self-driving, electric and shared vehicles and only 5 percent of those miles will be driven by internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

The report goes on to say that autonomous EVs (A-EV) will make up 60 percent of the U.S vehicle stock, and those vehicles will be part of a shared-mobility service. As more people start to share cars, the overall number of vehicles on U.S. roads will drop from 247 million in 2020 to 44 million in 2030.

SEE ALSO: Going Autonomous: The Transformation of the Transportation Industry

The change is already happening. In 2016, shared-mobility companies such as Uber and Lyft drove 500,000 passengers per day in New York City, which is triple the number of passengers from 2015. Today, more and more automakers like Tesla and GM are also entering the shared-mobility market.

EVs are already becoming prominent in major cities around the world. (Source: Time)

The findings illustrate a future where people drive more miles with fewer cars, which are fueled by electricity, and shared instead of owned. It’s a radical visualization of the future, but one that is driven by economic forces.

By 2021, shared vehicles will be 4 to 10 times cheaper per mile than private vehicles, and American households will save an average of USD 5600 every year by switching to shared EVs from cars fueled by gas, according to RethinkX.

Zoepf shared another report by ARK investment Management which echoes the finding above- in the next ten years, people will drive three times more kilometers using half the number of cars and the number of EVs on the road will increase 10 fold.

What It Means for Car Manufacturers and Suppliers

A shrinking vehicle fleet consisting of mostly EVs can only mean one thing: a major disruption to the current automotive market.  

Right now, the average lifecycle of a car in the U.S. is 11 years. However, the majority of a car’s total mileage is driven in its early years. It’s the same for shared vehicles, but they are driven about 80,000- 90,000 km per year, 10 times the distance of privately-owned cars. What this shows is a compression of the vehicle lifespan in its first 3 to 4 years.

These statistics pose critical concerns for automakers.

Will overall vehicle sales decrease in the coming future? According to Zoepf, that’s the wrong question to ask. Instead, automakers should be asking “will I make money?” Automakers have a couple of choices. They can either adapt early on and manufacture EVs and/or A-EVs at a competitive price, or become a shared-mobility provider. Early movers such as Tesla, GM and Volvo are already shifting their business strategies to fit these models.

GM recently launched Maven, a car-sharing service. (Source: The Verge)

Another question to ask is how these trends will affect vehicle design. With shortened vehicle life-cycles, manufacturers can either design cars to last only 3 to 4 years for quick replacements, or opt for the aviation model where the vehicle will be built to last, but the interior parts, such as seats, will be replaced frequently. Whatever route manufactures choose to take, gaining a competitive edge in vehicle and service quality early on will be key.

What Will This Mean for Vehicle Material Suppliers?

If building cars to last is no longer a primary priority, will car makers downgrade their materials? The short answer is not a chance.

Through a customer survey study Zoepf conducted of 60,000 Zipcar customers, he showed that the number one factor when choosing a car is safety. However, there is no one, ideal model or type of car that is preferred in a shared mobility framework. The purpose of the trip determines the type of vehicle, and the success of a shared mobility service provider will depend on the variety of cars it can provide – all with competitive safety ratings.

POSCO ICT already has ChargEV stations set up across Korea. (Source: POSCO ICT)

The supplier’s role will be to continue providing high-quality materials that can boost the safety and cost competitiveness of future vehicles. Steel suppliers have to keep developing lightweight and high-strength steels like POSCO GIGA STEEL, and research new materials that can boost the competitiveness of EVs such as POSCO’s Hyper NO for motor cores, battery materials and POSCO ICT’s EV charging service and infrastructure.

There remain numerous challenges that lie ahead for a greener and safer future with EVs and A-EVs, and it might take longer than experts predict for lawmakers, corporations and consumers to all agree on an optimal mobility model. However, change is already underway and automakers and suppliers alike need to strategize and adapt early on to take advantage of the upcoming opportunities.

For more information on how advanced automotive steel can benefit automakers looking for lightweight and sustainable steel solutions, take a look at our infographic on POSCO GIGA STEEL or read the full report here. 

Cover photo courtesy of GOV.UK.

According to research by McKinsey, approximately 51 percent of all job-related activities in the U.S. can be replaced by robots. Another recent research conducted by PwC shows that 40 percent of jobs in the U.S., 31 percent in the UK, 35 percent in Germany and 21 percent of the jobs in Tokyo are vulnerable to replacement by robotics or other artificial intelligence (AI).

An imagined image of an all-robot workforce (Source: Digital News Asia)

The figures are daunting, but in practice, companies have yet to realize a fully-automated system that matches human labor. The truth is, humans need robots to take over mundane and physically demanding tasks, while people take on creative and innovative roles in the workplace. What is more likely is a shift in workplace dynamics, not a decrease in the overall number of jobs available. Today, most companies have automated their systems to varying degrees, and robots are continually being upgraded.

The Human-Robot Collaboration

Last year, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published ISO/TS 15066, the safety standards for collaborative robots, or cobots that work in the same workplace as humans simultaneously. Before, it was common to find robots restrained in cages, or shut off while human workers loaded equipment onto the robots. Now, with enhanced sensors and diverse power settings, the safety risks of working with cobots are low. To add, many industries are embracing cobots over traditional industrial robots that work alone, because cobots are less expensive and require much less energy to operate.     

A welder gets help from a cobot

Not only are they a sustainable solution for companies, they increase workers’ productivity. According to Business World, Julie Shah and her team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted a study looking at human-robot collaborations at a BMW plant. She found higher levels of productivity, efficiency and performance when humans and robots collaborate in comparison to all-human or all-robot systems. Collaboration also reduced human idle time by 85 percent. Many argue that this increase in productivity will lead to more business and eventually create more jobs that revolve around working with cobots.

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) found that robot-driven productivity accounted for 10 percent of total GDP growth in OECD countries from 1993 to 2016, and that number will continue to grow in the coming years. The IFR predicts worldwide usage of industrial robots to reach 2.6 million by 2019. That’s one million more robots than in 2015.

Cobots are already making their way into factories and warehouses, and human workers are learning to work with their new counterparts.

Auto Industry

The automotive industry is one of the most common places to find cobots as major automakers were early movers in incorporating robotics into the workforce. That’s why it’s the perfect place to observe the changing dynamics of the workplace with cobots. At Ford’s new production facility, cobots work shoulder to shoulder with the production team in what they call a blended solution. Mostly, cobots have taken over repetitive tasks, physically demanding or dangerous tasks and freed up workers to focus on new innovations and creative projects. The facility runs 21 hours a day, 6 days a week thanks to around 550 cobots and robots.

Take a look at the new working dynamics at Ford below:

Food Industry

The food industry is another sector ripe for human-cobot collaboration, especially in the packaging sector. However, pizza restaurant Zume is changing the delivery pizza experience with automated technology. Cobots have taken over tasks such as spreading the sauce and lifting the pies into the oven. They will be implementing more robot technology to free up kitchen staff to work in their offices for business expansion. Another addition to come is a delivery truck equipped with 50 ovens that will start cooking the pizzas based on exactly calculated arrival times.

Watch the video below to find out more about what Zume is working on:

E-Commerce Industry   

Amazon is another early mover that introduced 15,000 cobots named Kiva to their warehouses in 2014. Two years prior in 2012, they bought Kiva Systems, a robotics company, for USD 775 million. Since then, the number of cobot employees has tripled.

Here’s how it works. Human employees scan items and place them into the shelf-like pods. Instantly, the scanned item is available to purchase online. Kiva’s software keeps track of where each item is so that it can easily be found at the picking station, where a human employee retrieves the product for shipping. Amazon managed to rapidly increase efficiency and speed up delivery times with Kiva. They continue to incorporate AI into their services, including their drone delivery system.

Take a look at Kiva in action in the video below:

Healthcare Industry

In the healthcare industry, cobots are being incorporated to assist doctors in surgery and lighten the burden of caregivers by taking over mundane tasks. Pairing cobots and their software technology with doctors has several benefits including minimized invasiveness, exactness and reduced mistakes in surgical procedures. To date, AI and cobots have allowed doctors to access new parts of the human body for surgery, and achieve breakthrough feats the way they examine, monitor and operate on patients.

Take a look at the most innovative cobots to date in the healthcare industry:

Steel Industry

POSCO is a leader in applying AI to the steel production systems. In 2015, they developed an exoskeleton cobot designed to enable workers strength beyond their own. The cobot is made of carbon fiber, aluminum and steel, and was first tested with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, at their facility in Okpo-dong. The cobot enabled shipyard workers to easily lift heavy pieces of metal weighing around 70 pounds, and researchers are working to allow workers to lift up to 200 pounds effortlessly.

Watch the video to find out more:

Aside from cobots, POSCO also incorporates AI and IoT into their smart factory, the first smart steel factory in the world, and continues to research and develop smart solutions to optimize the production processes.

Continued automation and the incorporation of cobots in the workplace is inevitable, and governments and institutions will have to provide resources for people to fill jobs tailored to working with cobots or those that cannot be replaced in any way by robots and AI. What’s ahead is figuring out how to think of cobots as coworkers that will only enhance one’s work. Also, companies have to figure out how to fully realize the potential for increased economic productivity through this type of cobot co-work that will lead to the development of more innovations, technology and ultimately, new business ventures.

Don’t miss any of the exciting stories from The Steel Wire – subscribe via email today.

Compared to the world’s very first cars, today’s cars are faster, stronger, safer and have more sophisticated designs. As alternative materials like aluminum are increasingly being used for car parts that were originally made of steel, some even refer to this trend as a “material war.”

“Material War” in the Auto Industry

Recently, various substitutes for steel have entered the picture and are being applied in commercial vehicles. The most commonly used materials are aluminum and CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic).

Beginning in the 1930’s, aluminum was primarily used as a lightweighting material for race cars and the outer panel of a vehicle. On the day of the Eifel race, the Mercedes-Benz weighed over the maximum limit and in an attempt to resolve this, the white paint was stripped from the frame, leaving the car’s aluminum frame completely exposed. This is how the Benz got its famous nickname, the “Silver Arrows.”

Pictured is the Mercedes Benz “Silver Arrows” racecar with its paint completely stripped off to reduce the weight. (Source: Daimler AG)

Safety regulations were less strict then than they are today. If there was an accident, the outcome would most likely be a severe injury or even death. With the goal of increased protection, researchers began to use tubular frames made of chromium molybdenum steel in order to reinforce the rigidity of the vehicle.

As the 1970’s rolled around, CFRP, a material that was already being applied in the aerospace industry, made an appearance in Formula 1 and automotive researchers quickly began discovering its potential and value. Soon enough, CFRP was considered an ideal material for race cars.

The Audi A2 and A8 made with aluminum car frames during the early 2000’s (Source: Audi AG)

The rapid implementation of new substitute materials in the motorsports industry set a precedent for the auto industry as well. In the early 2000s, Audi shocked the industry by presenting the A2 and A8, two vehicles with car frames that were made completely out of aluminum. In 2015, BMW created a large-sized sedan made of CFRP, which was only used in a limited number of cars. This stunned consumers and the industry yet again. As advances were made with aluminum and CFRP, it seemed that steel would inevitably lose its place in the automotive material industry.

However, those who believed that the age of steel was over forgot one thing: steel is constantly evolving. While it is true that aluminum and CFRP could replace steel and that they are lighter, the disadvantages that come with these materials confirm that steel is a much more efficient material.

Aluminum

Aluminum, for example, is lighter than steel, but because it has less strength, thicker pieces need to be used. In order to achieve the same level of strength as steel, it needs to be mixed with other materials. Also, aluminum has a low melting point and easily leads to the formation of the oxide film, a factor that makes it difficult to weld. The high thermal conductivity makes the heat that is produced at the time of welding spread, making the material more brittle.

These disadvantages mean aluminum has to be welded in other ways such as riveting, a method of mechanical joining using thick mushroom-shaped nails or adhesive. If the aluminum is not tightly joined during the riveting process, oxide films form in between the cracks resulting in fatigue failure. If a tackifier was used in the process, an impact or collision could easily rupture the adhesive lining. Addressing these problems, while also ensuring that the frame is durable and light, has proved to be a much more expensive process than manufacturing a traditional steel car frame.

As such, numerous factors including durability, safety, and efficiency must be considered when choosing a material to be applied to a car.

From the 1930s to the ‘70s, it was possible to use aluminum in race cars because the vehicles were only used for one or two races. The aluminum pieces were hammered into shape by hand or joined together by rivets, but mass production of aluminum car frames was a very difficult operation. To this day, aluminum is still a difficult material to work with due to its high cost and the complicated technology involved in the production process.

CFRP

CFRP, which is known to be lighter and stronger than steel, also has several issues. Although a method for mass production has recently been established, it requires a much longer production time (the time allowed for one product to be produced) for a car body or shell, meaning that it also yields higher labor costs.

The McLaren MP4/1 was the first car frame to be made from CFRP.

Recently, Boeing and BMW began to research ways to recycle CFRP, but unlike steel or aluminum, it is fundamentally impossible to melt CFRP and give it a “new life”. Another reason why it is not an eco-friendly material is that various chemical products are used in the manufacturing process.

Also, 80% of carbon fiber production, one of the core materials in CFRP, is used by the aviation industry. Because the demand is much higher than the supply, it is much more expensive than steel and has yet to fully make its way into the automotive industry.

Because these shortcomings have not been addressed, researchers have started to turn their eyes back to steel. Even Audi, which once considered its aluminum car frames a major strength, has adopted steel to create the car frame for their newest sedan. Other major automakers still continue to look to steel as the main material as well.

The Shift Back to Steel

The reason for the shift back to steel is because it not only addresses certain disadvantages of alternative materials but also because it is a more affordable choice. The launch of POSCO GIGA STEEL and PosM, in particular, introduced a whole new level of steel.

Audi has turned away from a fully aluminum car frame and has begun incorporating high-tensile steel plates, as indicated by the purple portions of the car frame.

[clickToTweet tweet=”PosM is POSCO’s unique brand of steel that goes beyond the limits of traditional steel plates and exhibits a new level of performance.” quote=”PosM is POSCO’s unique brand of steel that goes beyond the limits of traditional steel plates and exhibits a new level of performance.” theme=”style6″]

PosM includes three different series of steel. The “E Series” focuses on elongation, the “Y Series” focuses on the yield strength and the “B Series” balances the benefits of the two.

The highlighted parts represent the parts that have been applied to the “E Series” of PosM

PosM “E Series”

The “E Series” was once thought to be only theoretically possible and has long been known as a dream material amongst the world’s leading steel companies. This is because it can meet two demanding conditions at once: strength and formability.

Not only does it have 2-9 times more processability compared to existing materials, it also has an excellent ability to absorb impact, which can make a car safer when used in those engine room parts that absorb and disperse impact.

Many steel companies attempted to produce this material but were not able to complete it due to difficulties in production. However, in 2008, POSCO successfully developed this material for the first time and made it available for purchase.

The highlighted parts represent the parts that have applied the “Y Series” of PosM.

PosM “Y Series”

The “Y series” is used for the parts of a car that protect the passengers, especially because of the yield strength, which represents the strength of a material until it becomes deformed, is quite high. This includes, for example, filler parts that prevent the passenger compartment from becoming damaged in the event of a collision.

PosM “B Series”

The “B series” has both the benefits of the “E series” and “Y series”. It is one of the best materials that can be formed by cold forming, which is a simpler process than what is used to make Hot Press Forming (HPF) steel. Because it is easy to process, it can be manufactured into complex shapes and yield a much lower processing cost.

Until now, there has never been a steel that could exhibit both high strength and durability like PosM has. PosM, first developed by POSCO in 2016, is an indispensable material for automobiles.

Through PosM, which exhibits next-level performance compared to existing advanced high-strength steel solutions, steel is once again being considered as an essential material in automobiles. Also, POSCO GIGA STEEL is rapidly advancing to meet the needs of today’s evolving industry, leading the advanced strength steel market.

POSCO GIGA STEEL, with outstanding processability, affordability and a tensile strength that is over three times that of aluminum with the same thickness, will continue to be a very important material in electric vehicles (EVs) which define the present and future of the automotive industry. It will help overcome the limits of batteries used in EVs and allow the vehicle to travel longer distances with its lightweight qualities and make the car body safer by satisfying the most stringent of safety standards.

In addition, the advantage of being more economical, cleaner and easier to recycle than other materials is necessary for an age where consumers value eco-friendly solutions. As long as cars exist, steel will always be one of the most important materials. Various manufacturers are already turning their attention to hybrid car frames that utilize a combination of aluminum, magnesium and carbon composites, with steel as the main focus.  As advanced high-strength steel continues to make improvements it has the potential to replace the need for these other materials altogether.

Automobile development continues to move forward with steel, and at the crux of this progress is POSCO GIGA STEEL.

Read part one on how POSCO GIGA STEEL goes beyond the limits of traditional lightweight materials and part two on how POSCO GIGA STEEL opens the door to the future of the auto industry.

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Below, The Steel Wire speaks with Choi Jaeyong, Manager at POSCO’s Environment & Energy Business Department and currently a research fellow at the World Steel Association, to discuss sustainable manufacturing trends in the steel industry as well as the evolving automotive steel industry.

What are some of the most exciting initiatives taking place in the steel industry to combat greenhouse emissions and to create more sustainable production methods?

First, we must realize that one of the main causes of greenhouse emissions comes from using fossil fuels for the reduction of iron ore. Therefore, any ideas to improve this process and reduce the use of fossil fuels will also help reduce greenhouse gases. One of the most exciting initiatives taking place in the steel industry is replacing coke with hydrogen on a partial basis as a reduction agent. However, this is only effective if the hydrogen is produced by non-carbon energy sources.

[clickToTweet tweet=”“The sustainable life cycle of steel helps automakers recycle old automobiles into brand-new cars.” ” quote=”“The sustainable life cycle of steel helps automakers recycle old automobiles into brand-new cars.” ” theme=”style6″]

In addition to finding fuel alternatives for blast furnaces, advancements in smart factory technologies, such as AI and IoT, are also helping create more sustainable production methods while significantly enhancing the decision making process. For instance, the digitalisation of the control systems to reduce variations in process parameters has helped reduce energy usage as well as unexpected defects. Moreover, IoT can help employees at worksites by preventing industrial accidents with regards to machinery and equipment.

What do you think steelmakers should do to become more energy efficient?

First of all, steelmakers should work to achieve best-in-class operational standards across all processes. This includes improvements in engineering, operations, reliability, yield, health, and safety. Second, employees should stay up-to-date on the latest developments in steel production to ensure that advancements are shared utilized across the entire industry. Third, we must use collaborative and innovative R&D techniques to make improvements throughout all processes. POSCO is already practicing the first two very well while the third continues to be a priority for POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon.

I believe there is no one single solution for energy management; however, if those of us in the steel industry remain enthusiastic about finding creative energy saving solutions, new ideas will continue to arise and evolve.

From your experience working with POSCO’s energy management systems, can you tell us what POSCO is doing to become more energy efficient?

Pohang Steelworks is one of the most intricate modern steel manufacturing sites in the world. We continuously look for improvements throughout all processes including in the combustion, gas, corrosion, mechanical, instrument & measurement engineering practices, and statistical analysis techniques. If problems are found they are analyzed to eliminate and prevent faults or delays.

Also, at Pohang Steelworks, each facility has their own characteristics from raw materials to end products. Producing coke, sinter, and pig iron is a near continuous process, but producing steel is a batch process. Respective rolling mills have different rolling schedules and maintenance periods. Upstream processes, such as the blast furnace, have a fixed maintenance schedule. Why is knowing the characteristics of the process important? The processes create by-product gases and if there is a break in the use of the gases, the furnace will need to be flared once the gasholders are full. This has a significant impact on the emissions intensity for the site. Pohang Works uses many kilometers of pipelines and multiple power plants in order to utilize all the by-product gases and my role is to eliminate the flaring ratio and to operate energy facilities with high efficiency. The most important job is to maintain the facilities so that they are in good condition and can operate when needed.

Inside steelmaking plant of POSCO (Image courtesy of World Steel Association)

For sites like POSCO, energy needs to be viewed holistically to be able to create a balanced energy generation system, which helps avoid waste in gas & electricity. There is a project currently underway to build a new integrated energy management system that will help optimize energy use and prevent waste.

More and more automakers around the world are focusing on sustainability and emission reduction. What kinds of benefits can sustainable materials like steel bring to the auto industry? Also, what is POSCO doing to help automakers manufacture more sustainable vehicles?

Steel is better than alternative materials like aluminum and carbon fiber composites for various reasons. Properties of steel vary greatly but it’s always adaptable to making new products for different end products. When the electric arc furnace (EAF) melts steel, it can be formed into a new product without a loss of quality. On the other hand, other alternative materials composed of alloys at a lower temperature remain as molten alloys, and they require additional processing to separate the various elements from the original material, which cannot always be done without a loss of quality. For steel, this is not a problem. Also, because of the sustainable life cycle of steel, automakers can recycle old automobiles into brand new cars without a reduction in quality.

Additionally, by replacing conventional steel materials with advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), drivers can reduce fuel usage by as much as 5% and greenhouse gas emissions by 6%.

POSCO has developed numerous lightweight solutions to enable automakers to produce lighter, more eco-friendly products with no reduction in strength and durability. Using more sustainable materials like POSCO GIGA STEEL can bring numerous benefits to the auto industry as it offers automakers the ability to produce stronger cars with fewer emissions.

For more information on POSCO GIGA STEEL, take a look at the 6 reasons why POSCO GIGA STEEL is Ideal for both automaker and consumers.

Q1. Despite several market challenges heading into 2016, POSCO Maharashtra has become POSCO’s most successful subsidiary. What would you credit with this quick turnaround?

Manish Kochar: At the beginning of last year, there were many import restrictions imposed by the government of India, and at the start of 2015 a lot of people were not sure whether we could even survive. We were merely a POSCO group company that was buying from POSCO Headquarters and selling in India. But we quickly adapted to the situation.

Because of the high costs of materials, we began to develop partnerships with local mills. Our Quality Assurance and Product Departments worked with these local mills to improve standards and help guarantee the same quality that our customers expect. This also reduced our inventory levels, which in turn reduced our inventory costs.

This was a very good move and I appreciate that management had the foresight and ability to make these collaborations possible. Otherwise, our journey would have been very different.

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Chetan Waghchoure: First of all, we were able to succeed because of the direction from management. We have clearly defined strategies for each segment in terms of targets, market, and pricing, which are constantly under review. Because of this, we have been able to make improvements in production, logistics, and quality.

From 2015-2016 we were barely producing 80-90 thousand tons per month, but today we are reaching over 140 thousand tons each month. Additionally, we were able to cut the production process from two months to just 30 days. And, we made an effort to move away from small market segments where the prices are low and competition is very high. Instead, we changed our focus to producing high-quality products for auto, home appliances, and panels. This move gave us higher margins and more market share.

“Increasing the operating ratio helped reduce the operating cost and that indirectly affected our profitability.” – Ajay Telrandhe, Quality Assurance

Ajay Telrandhe: In addition to what Chetan and Manish have said, in the last 3-4 months, we have increased the operating ratio and plant utilization. While we were operating at around 70-75%, now it’s at almost 90%. Increasing the operating ratio helped reduce the operating cost and that indirectly affected our profitability. Because of this, we were able to enter into more non-auto segments and produce more exports.

Q2. POSCO prides itself on producing the most advanced, high-quality steel around the world. How important is quality at POSCO Maharashtra and how are you able to maintain quality standards with such rapid growth?

Chetan Waghchoure: If I supply material at a cheaper rate, the customer will come back one time. But if I supply quality material, they’ll come back again and again. So that’s what we’re doing right now. Although our products might be priced a bit higher in the Indian market, we are supplying quality material and our customers continue to be loyal because they understand that value.

“If I supply material at a cheaper rate, the customer will come back one time. But if I supply quality material, they’ll come back again and again.” – Chetan Waghchoure, Sales

Ajay Telrandhe: POSCO Maharashtra has very advanced inspection systems. From surface inspections to mechanical testings to calibration – those are all constantly maintained so that we can ensure delivery of uniform products to our customers.

Also, in the next few months, we will be adding an AI system for zinc coating. Maintaining a consistent coating weight for automotive steel is a highly specialized process and prone to error. By integrating advanced AI technology, we will be able to reduce waste and ensure consistency.

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Manish Kochar: One of the most important ways we are able to offer higher quality control is in the way we manage our supply chain for automotive customers. There are three to four automotive hubs in India and for all 3 locations, we have dedicated POSCO-owned service centers. Before POSCO began collaborating with the local mills, there was no integrated logistics plan so mills in one part of India were supplying products on the other side of the country. Now, India is a big country so it was impossible for them to manage any type of dynamic, just-in-time delivery supply chain. Because of POSCO’s superior supply chain management, we have created a very big gap between us and our competitors.

Also, nobody works in as much detail as POSCO does. At POSCO, we develop specific steel solutions for each product based on how the part will be used and in what capacity. In addition, we have separate application codes defined in our system that prevent us from providing materials that are not specifically designed for that part. Most of our competitors cannot do that, they simply provide similar materials for each part.

For global companies that value quality, POSCO is always their first choice.

Q3. How has POSCO’s Solution Marketing helped customers improve production processes and manufacture better products?

Ajay Telrandhe: We recently worked with Tata Motors and Royal Enfield to develop new fuel tanks. Tata Motors’ previous fuel tanks had a short life cycle and were prone to rusting with leakages while Royal Enfield was using galvanized electroplated material for their fuel tanks that was very expensive and had to be imported as it was hard to procure in India. So, POSCO worked with both companies individually and came up with a GA product with a chrome pre-razing coating. By making these adjustments in the production process, both companies have seen much better results with reduced costs and inventories.

“We are currently the only supplier in India who can provide galvanized steel at 0.48cm.” – Manish Kochar, Sales

Manish Kochar: One successful example was the time we worked with one of our customers to reduce the thickness of their Extra Deep Drawing (EDD) galvanized steel product for Dish application. At that time everyone was using 0.6mm thick galvanized steel, but the customer wanted it reduced to around 0.5mm. We met with our Quality Assurance Department with the goal of reaching 0.48-0.50mm. After planning, development, and testing we found that in addition to the reduction in thickness there was around a 10-15% reduction in weight as well – with no loss in stability. We are currently the only supplier in India who can provide EDD galvanized steel at 0.48mm.

Q4. How does POSCO Maharashtra plan to continue its success into the future?

Chetan Waghchoure: The Indian auto market is not yet saturated and it is still growing.  We see constant growth in this segment and expect to see new investment opportunities with many of our global clients including electric carmaker Tesla, KIA Motors, BMW, and SAIC-China. Having developed strategic locations throughout India has given us an advantage and helped us have an upper hand in the competitive automotive steel market. We are prepared and expecting continued growth in the automotive steel market.

POSCO Maharashtra is confident in the quality of products they can provide to customers as India’s auto industry expands.

Ajay Telrandhe: As India’s economy continues to grow, all of the global players will also have a presence in India. Because of this, the demand for steel will continue to rise. At POSCO Maharashtra, we are preparing for this opportunity. We will continue to develop our galvanizing line in order to meet increased demand while continuing to focus on delivering the highest quality products to all of our customers.

Manish Kochar: The government of India announced its National Steel Policy in April 2017 that focuses on improving per capita steel consumption in India both in the short and long term. The demand for automotive & home appliances is increasing steadily every year. POSCO is already an established brand worldwide, and more and more global companies entering the Indian market want to work with POSCO. As such, we will continue to provide a very high standard of quality for our customers.

[clickToTweet tweet=” ‘The global companies coming to India want to work with POSCO.’ -Manish Kochar” quote=” ‘The global companies coming to India want to work with POSCO.’ -Manish Kochar” theme=”style6″]

We have developed good relationships with local mills and consistently delivered high-quality products to our customers. We don’t see any issue with an increase in production and we don’t expect any gaps in quality as demand for POSCO steel continues to increase.

This interview was conducted as POSCO Group University held its Global New Leader Program in Korea. The Global New Leader Program brings together management from POSCO Family subsidiaries from all around the world so they can collaborate, share ideas, and develop new skills. This is just one global leadership program that POSCO organizes for its global employees. Find out more about POSCO’s global operations in our interviews with POSCO TCS in Thailand and POSCO China.

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Auto Industry’s Challenge to Meet Consumer Demands

Mileage, design, and emissions. Which do you consider the most when purchasing a car? It is difficult to say that one is more important than the others, and fortunately, POSCO GIGA STEEL offers unique benefits for each one to meet the needs of today’s auto industry as it faces increasingly strict demands on safety and fuel efficiency.

More than ever, the industry is requiring that a vehicle goes longer distances with less fuel, which means the car must be lighter.  Also, technological advances have enabled cars with more power, requiring them to be safer. Consumers also want a car that represents their personality, demanding vehicles with more sophisticated and elegant designs.

Cars now need to drive smoothly, burn less fuel, and ensure safety, all while boasting an elegant design (Image courtesy of Mercedes-Benz AG).

While there are other conditions that need to be considered, it is paramount that cars meet the following three conditions in order to satisfy consumers: fuel efficiency, safety, and design. But these demands are becoming increasingly difficult to meet, and the only solution is to discover a technology that enables all of the above. For safety considerations, in the event of a collision, parts of the car also need to absorb the kinetic energy and protect the passengers inside.

In addition to having a battery and electric motor, the electric car is different from standard cars because the battery is a part of the frame itself.

6 Types of POSCO GIGA STEEL Tailored for Different Auto Parts

A car’s body frame requires different steel products for specific parts (Image courtesy of Renault)

POSCO GIGA STEEL is an advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) that can meet these various demands. Let’s take a look at the different types of POSCO GIGA STEEL products and how each one is being used in different parts of the car.

Complex Phase (CP) Steel

Complex Phase (CP) steel is often used to make reinforced auto parts that require high crashworthiness ratings, such as sill side panels, bumper rails, and door impact bars. It plays an extremely important role in the car frame as it is highly resistant to dents or bumps. In the past, the side panels of race cars were purposely made to be thicker in order to prevent dents and protect the driver inside and this naturally led to the vehicle becoming considerably heavier. However, CP steel minimizes these disadvantages. In the event of an impact, cars made with CP steel retain its original shape considerably better than other car frames due to its high strength and also has an exceptional ability to absorb all of the energy while still exhibiting an impressive thinness. It is often incorporated into the sill side panels and door impact bars to allow for a more spacious design.

Dual Phase (DP) Steel

Dual Phase (DP) steel can be easily welded and deformed and boasts a high level of total elongation (the rate at which the material is stretched without snapping). DP steel is commonly used in seat rails or other lower body reinforcements that run underneath the passenger seat. The tensile strength is at least 980MPa, but because it also exhibits impressive ductility, it can easily be used for random spare parts.

Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) Steel

Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steel first made its way into the auto industry about six years ago. As the auto industry is beginning to value lightweight cars more and more, TRIP steel has received more attention. It is mainly used in the inner parts of the car body. This part of the car needs to absorb shock and impact and also be flexible enough to be fitted around the complex inner structure of the car. With TRIP steel’s outstanding combination of strength and ductility, it is one of the most commonly used high-strength automotive steels in the auto industry today.

Martensite Steel (MART)

Because Martensite steel is naturally high in strength, thinner sheets produced from roll forming (a metal forming process in which steel is continuously shaped or formed until it reaches a desired cross-section) still retain the same level of performance as conventional parts. Thinner parts also have the added benefit of reducing the weight.

Hot Press Forming (HPF) Steel

Hot Press Forming (HPF) steel is a different class of steel made with a unique steel production process. Typically, as steel becomes higher in strength, it is more difficult to mold into the desired shape through conventional processes. However, through the HPF process, the steel is heated to 950℃ before press forming. At high deformation temperatures, steel sheets are very soft so that difficult shapes can be obtained easily. During forming, the heated steel sheet cools down rapidly in the die block, so that the resulting pressed parts have a very high strength level. Due to its combination of high strength and formability, HPF steel is often used in the B-pillar of a car which requires intricately shaped parts as well as the A-pillar roof side rails which are prone to damage.

Post Heat Treatment (PHT) Steel

The chassis that supports the car frame needs to be extremely durable and resistant to impacts or shocks on the road as its main function is to improve the ride quality of the vehicle.
In order to increase the durability and torsional resistance, the material needs to be quenched and tempered. Before going through the heat treatment portion of the process (quenching), the material can be easily molded into spare parts due to its reduced strength. After being molded, it is heated up to 950°C and then rapidly cooled by water. This is why PHT is called “post-heat treatment steel”. Due to its ultra-high strength, it also has lightweighting benefits and is typically used in a vehicle’s chassis, stabilizer bars in a suspension system, and torsion beams.

These six types of POSCO GIGA STEEL each have their unique advantages in terms of processability & strength, production cost, and ease of application. Compared to conventional materials, thinner pieces can be used while still retaining the same level of performance and strength. Due to these incredible characteristics, POSCO GIGA STEEL is able to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of the auto industry for safety and efficiency.  

Image courtesy of Renault

Researchers in the auto industry are constantly looking for a stronger, more formable material. As the auto industry undergoes another paradigm shift, POSCO GIGA STEEL will continue to offer unique solutions that can satisfy both automakers and consumers.

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Since the early 20th century, car manufacturers have realized the importance of using specific steel for specific purposes. Henry Souther of the New York Times reported in 1909, “The secret of the use of steel is to put the right steel in the right place.” Until fairly recently, automotive steel mostly consisted of weaker mild steels that were affordable and easy to form into parts, but innovations in advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) have given automakers more options when designing vehicles.

Today’s automakers and parts manufacturers must consider several properties of the steel they are using: formability, crashworthiness, and durability. Each plays an important role in how the car is made and how the car performs over time and during impact. Below we take a look at these criteria and why each is important for manufacturers when designing a car and its parts.

Formability in Manufacturing

Formability is a key aspect to any automotive material. If a part cannot be made, it cannot be used. Typically, to make steel stronger, automakers had to make sacrifices in weight and formability, and if manufacturers needed a material with more ductility they were forced to give up strength.

The first generation of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) increased strength while decreasing weight, giving automakers the opportunity to use thinner steel sheets. However, as the steel became stronger it lost formability, making it difficult to mold into parts.

POSCO GIGA STEEL is formable so that it can be shaped into complex parts.

Development of the second generation of AHSS focused on improving formability and elongation; however, its commercial use was limited due to its high cost and tendency to produce delayed cracking at room temperature.

With the new third-generation AHSS, like POSCO GIGA STEEL, steel producers have been able to bridge those gaps by producing steel that is formable, strong, and durable.  

While the average car built in 1975 utilized just 3.6% medium and high strength steels, by 2007 that percentage had increased by more than 230% in large part because the practical uses of AHSS have expanded.

Crashworthiness is Key for Safety

Crashworthiness is one of the most important elements to consider when designing automobiles because it is directly linked to the safety of passengers. The crashworthiness of a car is affected by many things including its structural build, safety devices, and materials.

While crash tests of full vehicles are often performed when developing a new car, crash tests of automotive parts are not carried out as often. To bridge this gap, POSCO developed its own crash test simulation for auto parts using high-speed compression and bending.

Crashworthiness criteria such as energy absorption & fracture, collapse mode, reaction force, and mean load is evaluated to provide reference data for car design. With these tests, POSCO is able to provide dynamic material data to its customers in order to propose the most appropriate steel solutions that maximize safety for passengers.

SsangYong Motor designed the new G4 Rexton SUV with a body frame that contains 63% POSCO GIGA STEEL. This is the highest ratio ever achieved in a body frame design and helps ensure significant levels of strength and safety for consumers. In the video below, watch as the SUV goes through various safety tests showing its crashworthiness and durability.

Durability to Prevent Fatigue Failure

The durability of parts is a critical factor to consider in vehicle design as their complicated components are subject to a wide array of complex stresses. In cars, material fatigue due to repeated mechanical loading can lead to the damage of critical components. Also, as vehicles are mobile machines, they are subject to even more unpredictable degrees of loading that can amplify the effects of fatigue on their parts. Moreover, because fatigue failure is often abrupt and difficult to detect, material providers must work to improve durability and ensure longer fatigue life.

“90% of the failures which occur in engineering components can be attributed to fatigue.”
– TR Gurney, Fatigue of Welded Structures

POSCO works with customers to provide accurate durability analysis for each of its products. Through extensive testing with various steel types, specimen shapes, and welding conditions, POSCO is able to provide in-depth testing results requested by customers.

POSCO also works with customers through its Solution Marketing 2.0 program that helps optimize the design and production process of each part – helping ensure that durability performance meets the customer’s needs.

POSCO GIGA STEEL provides automakers with durability to protect against fatigue failure.

Parts that require higher durability such as the CTBA (Coupled Torsion Beam Axle), wheel, engine cradle, lower control arm and stabilizer bar are interlinked with the fatigue data of POSCO steel. This provides the results of the durability analysis in order to suggest the most appropriate steel type for the manufacturer. Furthermore, POSCO supports joint research with customers for the design, manufacturing, and durability evaluations of its parts. POSCO also analyzes the causes of fatigue failure through SEM imaging of fatigue fracture surfaces, measurements of surface roughness, and measurements of strain rate and residual stress.

Today’s automakers must consider these properties during the design and manufacturing stages in order to find the right steel for each component. POSCO is committed to working with its automotive customers to ensure that the right steel solution is used for the right part – helping to find the right balance between formability, crashworthiness, and fatigue life.