When it comes to energy, the first things that come to mind would be fossil fuels, coal and oil in particular. These two most common energy sources aren’t considered Sustainable. On the contrary, the next most frequently used energy source is Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and this is referred to be Sustainable!

l Liquefied Natural Gas Emerging as a Major Energy Source

Do you know anything about LNG? I heard that LNG is made by liquefying natural gas and also that this LNG will become the next generation energy source. Am I right?

Yes, you are right. At present, there are many POSCO’s customers engaging in the LNG industry, ranging from LNG vessels, LNG tanks, to LNG equipment. And they strongly insist that LNG will become the next ‘major’ energy source. In fact, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that, in the future, LNG will overtake coal as the second dominant energy source following crude oil. In 2019, the global demand for LNG reached 359 million tons, a 12.5% increase compared to 2018, and some predict that it will increase to 700 million tons by 2040.

What is the reason for all this?

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What matters are environment and safety. These days, we are slowly getting rid of products and technology that aren’t Sustainable. Coal and crude oil — the most commonly used energy sources — are fossil fuels and emit fine dust (PM 2.5), sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxide (NOx) when utilized. Hence, both energy sources are far from being Sustainable. In the case of nuclear power plants, safety became an issue after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Of course, there are other renewable energies like wind and solar power, but they are still insufficient to replace fossil fuels entirely.
In the case of LNG, dust, sulfur, and nitrogen are removed during the liquefaction process, so when it is burned, pollutants can be significantly reduced compared to other fossil fuels. It is also lighter than air, so in case of a leakage, it can be blown away easily. The chances of an explosion are also low since its ignition temperature is high. Those are the reasons why LNG has been spotlighted these days.

l LNG, How Helpful Is It to the Environment?

I heard that demand for LNG-powered vessels has increased dramatically in the shipping industry because of the new regulations issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2020. I guess that is why?

You know that EV, hydrogen cars, and hybrid vehicles are popular these days, right? But did you know that the amount of SO₂ emitted by the top 15 large vessels adds up to more than all vehicles combined worldwide? No wonder why the transition from bunker fuel-powered vessels to LNG-powered vessels is in progress.

Then can you compare the environmental impact of LNG-powered vessels and bunker fuel-powered vessels? I want to check whether LNG is indeed Sustainable.

OK! Let’s take the ‘Green Iris’ vessel, propelled by LNG, as a model vessel and compare the two following cases: a) when operated on LNG with a fuel tank made of 9% nickel steel, high manganese steel, and b) when operated on conventional bunker fuel with a fuel tank made of regular steel plate.
Let’s suppose that the vessel takes a round trip from Busan Port to the Port of Singapore once a month for 25 years. The environmental impacts include not just the operation period but the manufacturing stage with 9% nickel steel, high manganese steel, and regular steel plate as well. Setting the conventional bunker fuel as 100%, let’s take a look at the level of acidification, global warming, and resource consumption of LNG.

Wow. The acidification effect of LNG-powered vessels is almost halved compared to that of bunker fuel-powered vessels. While the level of global warming and resource consumption goes down to 73% and 64%, respectively.

Can you see how beneficial it is to use LNG in the long run? The main reason why regulation was enforced on bunker fuel is because of SOx, and, in LNG, the amount of SO₂eq emission — including SOx — is slashed to 630 tons, the half of 1,220 tons emitted by the bunker fuel scenario’s.

SOx? Doesn’t it precipitate fine dust? So, utilizing an LNG-powered vessel can help reduce almost 600 tons per ship!

Also, the emission of greenhouse gases (CO₂eq), such as carbon dioxide, a major cause of global warming, amounted to 360,000 tons in the bunker fuel scenario and 264,000 tons in the LNG applied scenario. It shows that an LNG-powered vessel can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 90,000 tons compared to a bunker fuel-powered vessel. Imagine that this 90,000 ton is discharged into our planet. One pine tree can absorb about 6.6 kg of carbon dioxide per year, so 90,000 tons is equal to the amount that can be absorbed by 13.6 million trees for a year.

What? 13.6 million trees? That’s a LOT. Then, what is this resource consumption impact?

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Resource consumption indicates the degree of natural resources depleted due to the consumption of fossil fuels. The index is not simply based on how much natural resource is consumed quantitatively, but it also takes into account how many of these natural resources remain. Hence, it could provide us with information beforehand so that no excessive resources are consumed. The higher the number, the greater the degree of depletion. And as demonstrated here, LNG has less impact on resource consumption than bunker fuel.

l LNG, How Helpful Is It to the Environment?

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If LNG is that good, why do we keep using coal and oil until now?

That’s because we lacked the technology to apply it. A downside of LNG is that its liquefaction process, transportation, and storage are quite tricky. Since LNG required enormous investment to create a value chain such as processing and transporting, it did not receive much attention in the past. Natural gas needs to be cooled down to below -163 degrees Celsius to become LNG. And it took quite a long time to develop technologies and materials suitable for this condition.

You mean that we produce the gas in gas fields, liquefy, and use it in liquid form? I heard that the city gas we use is LNG, but isn’t this in gas form?

Well, the supply chain of LNG is quite complicated. First, the natural gas produced at gas fields is shipped to the LNG liquefaction plant via pipeline. Here, the gas is liquefied and formed into LNG. This LNG is then transported with a specialized vessel called an LNG carrier, and when the LNG arrives onshore, it is stored in the LNG storage tanks at the LNG terminal, where it is vaporized into gas once again. Finally, it is sent to power plants or city gas companies through a pipeline.

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Wow. I didn’t know that LNG goes through so much before we get to use them. So I guess it requires advanced technology as well?

Yes, it does. The core technology is about tank design. And among other things, the material would be the most crucial part. The first LNG plant to be built on a commercial scale was the Cleveland plant in the U.S. in 1941. However, the plant was shut down in 1944 due to the destruction of the LNG tank during operation. The material used in making the LNG tank was known to be vulnerable to low temperatures, and it was one of the reasons why the LNG tank was damaged.

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I guess research on LNG tank materials wasn’t active back then. So we need a material that is strong enough to be used at very low temperatures.

When you apply force to an object, it withstands to a limit, deforms, and eventually breaks. Most materials become weaker at low temperatures. You must have seen that when an object quickly freezes, it tends to break easily. When LNG is unloaded and stored, its temperature changes rapidly — ranging from room temperature to below -163 degrees Celsius. And of course, the LNG tank should be able to withstand such dramatic temperature changes. Also, the material should have excellent machinability and be cost-efficient so that it can be fabricated into the desired structure.

Then we cannot use normal steel to make LNG tanks, right? What should we use then?

This is where POSCO’s steel solution steps in! Let me introduce you to the details from now on.

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☞ See [GPS] #2 POSCO’s Solution for the LNG Industry! (ep.2)

POSCO introduced its advanced solution marketing campaign ranging from energy steel products to end products at OTC held in Houston, Texas, on April 30th.

POSCO decorated various technologies and solutions in the Main hall

The main purpose for the convention was maximizing promotion activity by POSCO’s unique solution program. Therefore, from the last year, POSCO set up the booth in the main hall (NRG Center) with the global major companies including Exxon, Siemens and GE. POSCO is the first domestic company that set the booth at NRG center.

Technologies from the fundamental materials to final products

POSCO has got huge attentions from by participants by presenting various unique solutions ranging from materials and end products, including 9% Ni steel LNG storage tanks and LNG fueled ship equipped with storage tanks made of high-manganese steel, large diameter thick wall welded steel pipe that POSCO’s high-strength panels applied and the Fitting, the joint between the pipe, the world’s leading wire rope that is made of ultra-high-strength for offshore construction, membrane for fuel storage of LNG carrier and tubes for energy mining.

Strengthen the relationship with global partners

In addition, POSCO and marine equipment manufacturers held a technical meeting with EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) companies to discuss and encourage new projects. POSCO also engaged in consultations with a range of companies, including potential clients located near Houston in order to penetrate a new market for World Premium steel products.

POSCO has been participated the OTC every year since 2008 and established strong network with major oil companies and global ETC companies and promote POSCO’s finest high manganese steel.

Globally, shipping accounts for 15 percent of N0x emissions, 8 percent of S0x emissions and 3 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while aviation accounts for just 1.5 percent of GHG emissions. Overall, emissions including GHG are increasing with booming trade and industrial activity, and policymakers are facing mounting pressure to deal with the crisis.

SEE ALSO: The Changing Waves of the Shipping Industry

Urgency of Clean Air

Experts found that in 2015, 6.5 million people died prematurely as a consequence of air pollution, with 92 percent of the deaths occurring in developing countries such as India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Madagascar and Kenya. In these countries, up to 25 percent of all deaths are pollution related. In India alone, 2.5 million people died from pollution, China saw 1.8 million pollution-related deaths and even in the U.S., more than 155,000 deaths were linked to air pollution.

In China, fog-like smog covers cities. (Source: South China Morning Post)

As a result, governments and international organizations all over the world started implementing environmental policies under growing pressure from well-informed citizens. For example, China has shut down a number of factories across the country and has policies in place to heavily regulate emissions as part of their “Beautiful China” initiative. Also, the International Marine Organization (IMO) announced it will tighten the international sulfur cap for shipping emissions from the current 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent by 2020.

Such initiatives are great first steps, as making the switch to cleaner marine fuels such as low-sulfur fuel will lead to 137,000 fewer premature deaths caused by air pollution and 8 million fewer cases of childhood asthma. However, with increasingly stringent environmental regulations, the shipping industry is eyeing more sustainable and renewable fuel options.  

Liquified Natural Gas

Currently, the most common and feasible option available for minimal emissions is liquified natural gas (LNG). Many shipping companies are embracing this option ahead of IMO’s 2020 emissions cap as LNG emits zero S02 and particulate matter, and up to 25 percent less C02 and up to 90 percent less N0x.

As a result, major oil companies are channeling their resources towards LNG production and manufacturers are opting for LNG-powered ships to lower their life cycle emissions. However, the downside to LNG as shipping fuel is that LNG tanks require more space on vessels. They also add considerable weight, meaning the vessel will use up more fuel.

LNG is the most feasible option for shipbuilders and manufacturers looking to lower emissions. (Source: Oil Industry Insight)

This is where steel can play a vital role in equipping shipbuilders with the lightest and strongest material options. This year, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard will build the world’s largest LNG-powered bulk carrier capable of yielding 50,000 tons of cargo, which is seven times more than existing LNG carriers. The company chose to build their vessel using POSCO’s High Manganese Steel, which is lightweight, tough, super strong and is able to facilitate the storage temperature of LNG at -162℃. Not only that, the steel is also cost effective when compared to other material options for ships.

SEE ALSO: POSCO’s High Manganese Steel to be Used for the World’s Largest LNG-Powered Bulk Carrier

Renewable Energy

Another company making exciting waves in the shipping industry is Eco Marine Power. The technology company is developing an alternative energy solution called Aquarius Marine Renewable Energy that will allow cargo ships to run on wind and solar energy. Rigid sails and solar panels will be placed on the exterior of cargo ships to directly generate and store energy and energy levels can be monitored via a computer-based system. This year, researchers are planning to put the system to the test with a Japanese shipping company to monitor the system’s performance, energy generation and the vessel’s energy consumption.

Eco Marine Power will put its energy solution to the test this year. (Source: Eco Marine Power)

Last year, Chinese shipping company Hangzhou Modern Ship Design & Research Co launched a cargo ship powered by an electric battery powertrain. The 2000-ton capacity vessel runs on two 160 kW electric propellers, supercapacitors and lithium batteries that provide a range of about 80 km per charge. For now, it is being used for short trips to carry coal up and down the Pearl River in Guangdong Province, and at each end, the vessel only takes about 2 hours to charge.

China launched the world’s first fully-electric cargo ship. (Source: China Minutes)

Again, the challenge for companies experimenting with renewable energy options will be dealing with the additional weight of generators and battery packs. The feasibility of sustainable cargo ships lies in the vessel’s energy efficiency, and heavier vessels will take up too much energy. As 90 percent of all trade goods cross the sea at one point in their life cycle, it will be impossible to decrease shipping activities. Instead, manufacturers will have to partner with solutions providers like POSCO for high-performing, lightweight materials to achieve clearer skies and a future of green shipping.

Cover photo courtesy of Global Economic Dynamics.

Smart factories are bringing AI, IoT and Big Data to the manufacturing industry.

#1 How Smart Factories are Changing the Manufacturing Industry

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing AI, IoT and other automated technologies into people’s lives and changing the way they live and interact with one another. It is also bringing about change in the manufacturing industry as more companies embrace smart factories to further enhance efficiency, performance and safety. Take a deeper look at how smart factories are reinventing the manufacturing industry.

SEE ALSO: How Factories Produce Steel- the Smart Way

POSCO GIGA STEEL also offers electric vehicle manufacturers a lightweight material solution.

#2 POSCO GIGA STEEL Increases Strength, Improves Safety in Autos

This year, POSCO GIGA STEEL set a new, industry standard for strength and formability for auto steel. The advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) is an automaker’s dream come true as it falls into the strongest category of steel commercially available today. Plus, its lightweight property makes it the perfect solution for manufacturers trying to design safe, high-performing and sustainable vehicles.

SEE ALSO: Ask an Expert: Has Steel Achieved Its Peak in Lightweighting?

Lithium-ion batteries are found in some of the most popular devices available today. (Source: BGR)

#3 POSCO’s Innovation Shapes the Ever-Growing Lithium Market

POSCO is the world’s 5th largest steel producer, but it’s got more up its sleeves than just steel. This year, POSCO developed game-changing technology that extracts lithium from water in just 8 hours to one month. Traditionally the task takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months. To add, the new technology can achieve a purity rate of 99.9 percent and increases the lithium recovery rate to over 80 percent.

Lithium is a central component in rechargeable batteries for electronics such as smartphones, laptops and most importantly, electric vehicles (EVs). Heading into 2018, POSCO is well-positioned to be an industry leader in a rapidly-growing market for EV batteries.

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

POSCO CEO Kwon Ohjoon fires up Pohang Blast Furnace No.3

#4 POSCO Gets “Smart” with Pohang Blast Furnace No.3

In June, one of POSCO’s oldest and the world’s 5th largest blast furnace got a makeover with some added AI. After undergoing 102 days of repairs, Pohang Blast Furnace No.3 came back much bigger with an expanded furnace volume of 5600㎥, compared to its original volume of 3795㎥ from its beginnings in 1978. Plus, Pohang Blast Furnace No.3 now has smart sensors to monitor operations and detect malfunctions or accidents before they happen.

SEE ALSO: How to Make Steel with an Old(ie but Goodie) Blast Furnace

Ajay Telrandhe in Quality Assurance and Manish Kochar & Chetan Waghchoure in Sales talk to the Steel Wire.

#5 Ask an Expert: POSCO Leads India’s Growing Automotive Steel Market

POSCO Maharashtra is POSCO’s leading subsidiary. Three of their employees gave the Steel Wire an insider’s look into the company’s success, despite a challenging market environment and government restrictions. The team in India implemented positive changes in the company’s steel quality, production processes and customer service to become a leading solution-provider for their automotive partners.

SEE ALSO: Revving Up for Growth: India’s Automotive Market is In Full Gear

EVs, autonomous vehicles and shared mobility will drastically change the auto industry. (Source: Electrek)

#6 Ask an Expert: Electric Vehicles and the Future of the Automotive Market

Stephen Zoepf, executive director at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University, was the first speaker at POSCO’s 2017 Global EV Materials Forum. Zoepf shared his vision of what the future automotive market will look like and its implications for car manufacturers, suppliers and drivers. According to research, 60 percent of the cars in the U.S. will be running on electric batteries by 2030, and those cars will mostly be part of a shared mobility service. Traditional ways of car production, distribution and consumption will undergo massive change and companies will have to find ways to stay competitive in the new market dynamics.

SEE ALSO: The Forgotten Fleet: Looking Back on Early Electric Vehicles for a Better Future

Steel dresses from Naim Josefi’s 2017 F/W GANGS collection. (Source: Naim Josefi)

#7 Ask an Expert: Fashion Forward with Steel

Fashion designer Naim Josefi opened new possibilities for steel application with his 2017 F/W GANGS collection which included dresses made of elaborate steel sequins and laser-printed jeans. He is also known for his 3D-printed high heels that provide the perfect fit. The artist has a passion for fusing technology into his work and finding more sustainable ways to create beautiful clothes and says he will continue to use steel as a high-tech, fashion material.

Heading into a new year in 2018, the Steel Wire promises to be the best source of steel industry news and continue to provide exclusive, insightful and interesting stories.

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.

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China

A worker at Tarim Basin, the largest oil and gas-bearing basin in the People’s Republic of China. (source: Eco-Business)

China, as a developing industrial nation, emits one of the highest levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and primary PM in the world. In 2013, it experienced the PM2.5 Crisis, and the government showed strong political will to battle air pollution with its Action Plan outlining ten goals to reduce air pollution by 2017. Fueled by anger from Chinese citizens over air quality, Beijing continues to heavily regulate air pollution as outlined in their 13th Five Year Plan (2016-2021), including the goal to have “good air quality day” readings for 80 percent of the year. It’s not all just talk in China, there is now no maximum monetary penalty payable for noncompliance, compared to the previous RMB 20,000.

The European Union

The European Environment Agency oversees the EU for environmental regulations (Source: Climateurope)

Air pollution regulations in the European Union (EU) are overseen by the European Environment Agency (EEA), which declared air pollution the number one environmental health risk in Europe. Most of the harm comes from vehicle and industry emissions. The EEA identified 5 key pollutants: nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), sulphur dioxide (SO2) ammonia (NH3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The EU set an emissions ceiling for its member nations to abide by from 2010 to 2019, and all but five countries are below that ceiling today. To add, as many as 5 member nations thus far have pledged to completely ban diesel and gasoline-fueled cars in the coming future.

Korea

Korean President Moon Jae-in talks to a crowd of people in Korea (Source: South China Morning Post)

With a new administration under President Moon Jae-in, Korea is committed to international environmental goals as a G20 member as well as making changes at home. Just last month in June, the government closed down a coal-fired plant that had been in operations for more than 30 years. Coal-fired plants are one of the major contributors of PM2.5, and the government has imposed new laws that ban the construction of new plants and encourage a general transition to natural gases. President Moon stated he will work to increase the natural gas market share in electricity production from 19 percent to 27 percent by 2030.

The government’s resolve to clean up the air affects coal-fired plants and plants using fossils fuels. The steel industry primarily uses such fuels and the need to find greener production processes is more urgent than ever before.

For POSCO, one of the biggest steel producers in Korea, efforts began back in 2007 when they jointly developed an iron-making process called Finex® with Primetals Technologies. The traditional way to produce iron is through a blast furnace which emits harmful substances into the air. The FINEX® Process combines coking plant, sinter plant and blast furnace into a single iron making unit, thus reducing production time, saving costs and resulting in drastically lower emission rates. With Finex®, sulfuric acid output was reduced by 60 percent, nitrate by 85 percent and scattering dust saw a 29 percent reduction. Even the byproduct of the iron-making process is an export gas that can be used for various purposes.

POSCO continues to strive to become an environmentally sustainable company with innovative material solutions, the application of AI (artificial intelligence) and IIoT (industrial internet of things) in their smart factory and their eco-friendly lithium extraction and rechargeable battery production. Such efforts have been recognized by the Corporate Knights which ranked POSCO 1st in metals and mining and 35th overall for their 13th annual Global 100 list of sustainable companies in 2017. Also, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index recognized POSCO for its sustainable management policies for 12 straight years.

The significant majority of leaders do agree on the need for collaboration to battle air pollution. Global citizens have growing concerns about environmental health risks such as PM2.5, and in response, many governments are enforcing tighter regulations and penalties on production companies. Companies now more than ever need to invest in new technologies and innovations for a greener world and bluer skies.

Cover image source: g20.org

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The report outlines POSCO’s overall performance and business activities, as well as the CEO’s message. The activities and performance section contains a review of the safety and health of employees, supply chain management, solution marketing, environmental management and climate change. Unlike previous years, this year’s report includes mid-to-long-term strategies such as securing new, sustainable growth engines for the steel business.

The report also features interviews with POSCO executives and external stakeholders. Highlights include interviews with the COO Oh In-hwan and the heads of three divisions: Steel Production, Technology and Investment and Management Support. They describe key, prospective businesses for 2017 and their means to accomplish those goals. Also, stakeholders reveal their expectations for POSCO and plans for improvement in several interviews throughout.

Samil PwC verified the report based on newly revised international guidelines. Also, the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standard and UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) were applied for enhanced credibility and transparency. POSCO not only validated their own data, but also the integrated ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) data of its key affiliates to augment the report.

In its conclusion, POSCO CEO Kwon Ohjoon emphasizes his message about the importance of the 4 core strategies in laying down the foundation for POSCO’s Next 50 Years. The strategies include enhancement of the steel business, reinforcement of the business structure of the Group, development of future growth engines and the establishment of a flexible and creative corporate culture. He also outlines how he will make efforts to comply with the principles of sustainability that is expected of global enterprises, such as environmental responsibility, human rights, labor rights and anti-corruption, and share the outcomes promptly and transparently with all stakeholders, including investors, customers and local communities.  

The cover of the 2016 POSCO Report features a bumper beam made of “POSCO GIGA STEEL,” POSCO’s World Premium Product.

The 2016 POSCO Report is available in Korean and English. You can download the PDF report from the POSCO website.

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Take a look at the articles below for a more detailed look at POSCO GIGA STEEL and the advanced high strength steel solutions available to the auto industry.

1. Three Trends that Will Forever Change the Automotive Industry

The last 15 years have seen cars that are connected, autonomous, shared, and electric. These recent trends represent a turning point for an industry that is being forced to recognize the quickly changing habits of its consumers as well as the increasingly strict safety and fuel efficiency regulations. In order to adapt, the automotive industry is learning to make cars differently. Underpinning all of these advancements is a need for stronger, lighter, and more durable materials like POSCO GIGA STEEL.

READ MORE: 3 Trends that Will Forever Change the Automotive Industry

2. Automakers Look to Steel for Lower CO2 Emissions

Several factors are contributing to the growing interest in electric vehicles. Stricter CO2 emission standards are changing the way cars are being made, and consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious at the same time. To produce more fuel efficient vehicles, car makers are looking to advanced materials in lightweighting that can help make vehicles more eco-friendly while being safe and affordable.

READ MORE: Automakers Look to Steel for Lower CO2 Emissions

3. POSCO GIGA STEEL Offers Solutions for the Evolving Auto Industry

Last year, POSCO sold approximately 9 million tons of automotive steel sheets, accounting for 10% of the global automotive steel sheet market. POSCO plans to expand their partnerships with automakers by providing customers with the most advanced, high-quality automotive steel. POSCO GIGA STEEL represents the beginning of a new era for automakers. It is lightweight, strong, high formable, and affordable.

READ MORE: POSCO GIGA STEEL Offers Solutions for the Evolving Auto Industry

4. POSCO GIGA STEEL Increases Strength, Improves Safety in Autos

Over the last 60 years, consumers, automakers, and regulatory agencies have been looking for ways to build cars that are safer for their passengers. The steel industry has responded by offering material solutions that are stronger and able to absorb more powerful impacts. POSCO GIGA STEEL is one of those solutions.With strength more than three times stronger than aluminum and with formability properties that allow it to be made into complex auto parts.

READ MORE: POSCO GIGA STEEL Increases Strength, Improves Safety in Autos

5. POSCO GIGA STEEL Opens Door to the Future of the Auto Industry

Mileage, design, and emissions. Which do you consider the most when purchasing a car? More than ever, the industry is requiring that a vehicle goes longer distances with less fuel, which means the car must be lighter while consumers want a car that represents their personality, demanding vehicles with more sophisticated and elegant designs. Park Jong-jae, a motorsport columnist, explores how POSCO GIGA STEEL provides the ideal solution to meet the needs of today’s auto industry and consumers.

READ MORE: POSCO GIGA STEEL Opens Door to the Future of the Auto Industry

6. Infographic: Driving the Future with POSCO GIGA STEEL

As the auto industry changes, POSCO GIGA STEEL provides an ideal solution for both manufacturers and consumers. It offers strength, formability, light weighting, increased safety, and affordability. For more information, take a look at the infographic and discover the benefits that POSCO GIGA STEEL can bring to both automakers and consumers today.

READ MORE: Infographic: Driving the Future with POSCO GIGA STEEL

Throughout April and May, The Steel Wire is taking a closer look at the auto industry and the demands on automotive materials to be stronger, lighter, and more affordable. Subscribe to our newsletter today and discover the benefits that POSCO GIGA STEEL can bring to both automakers and consumers today.  

It combines several unique features:

• Strength & Safety: POSCO GIGA STEEL is more than three times stronger than automotive aluminum. Because of its high strength, POSCO GIGA STEEL also adheres to some of the most stringent international safety standards.

• Formability: Because the mixing ratio of manganese has been precisely controlled, POSCO GIGA STEEL has highly formable properties that allow it to be made into complex auto parts without any special processing.

• Lightweighting: Because POSCO GIGA STEEL boasts high strength, it is possible to use less of it. This ultimately makes it lighter than car frames made of general steel or aluminum.

• Affordability: POSCO GIGA STEEL is a cost-effective solution for automakers, especially when compared to alternative materials, which in turn helps lower prices for consumers.

• Sustainability: When looking at the entire lifecycle of a vehicle made with steel, POSCO GIGA STEEL emits 10% lower CO² emissions compared to aluminum.

Take a look at the infographic below and discover the benefits that POSCO GIGA STEEL can bring to both automakers and consumers today.

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Increasing Safety Requirements Demand Stronger Steel

With an increasing awareness about car safety – governments and regulatory agencies have been passing stricter safety regulations for autos. At the same time, consumers began demanding better protections, and car makers began building safer vehicles. While there are many factors to consider in building a safer car – airbags, seatbelts, glass type – the crashworthiness, or structural integrity, of the car’s body frame is one of the most critical.

In 1975 the average vehicle was manufactured with 55.9% mild steel and just 3.6% medium and high strength steels. By 2007, the percentage of medium and high strength steels used in an average car had increased by more than 230%. In the seventies, steel companies simply did not have the technology to make the steel that they can produce today because while it was strong, it was brittle and difficult to work with. Today, innovations in steel technology have given car makers the ability to use a variety of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) that exceed 1,000MPa – meaning it can withstand more than 100 kilograms-force per square millimeter – because they are both strong and formable.

To demonstrate how far we come in terms of building stronger, safer vehicles, watch this crash test performed by the IIHS for their 50th anniversary with a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu.

POSCO GIGA STEEL, the Industry’s New Standard for Strength and Formability

With a tensile strength of more than 1,000MPa, POSCO GIGA STEEL falls in the strongest categories of steel available to auto manufacturers today. In addition to providing the strength needed to meet safety regulations, POSCO GIGA STEEL is also ideal because of its formability and processability.

While recent years have seen ultra strength steels come on to the market with tensile ratings above 1,000MPa, these have often been rigid and brittle, making them difficult to process and mold into workable parts. POSCO GIGA STEEL bridges that gap by offering an automotive steel solution with high ductility and high tensile strength. This unique technology makes POSCO GIGA STEEL a unique fit for automakers seeking materials that can be processed into complex parts while also offering the highest levels of strength and safety for consumers.

Because of the combination of both strength and formability, SsangYong Motor unveiled their new G4 Rexton SUV with a body frame that contains 63% POSCO GIGA STEEL – the highest ratio ever achieved in a body frame design. Manufacturers like SsangYong Motor can use such high ratios of AHSS because of the technological advancements that have improved its formability in line with its improvements in strength.

The body frame of SsangYong Motor’s new G4 Rexton is manufactured with 63% POSCO GIGA STEEL.

Testing the Strength of POSCO GIGA STEEL and Aluminum

As lightweighting has become a priority for car makers seeking to build more fuel efficient cars, many have been looking toward alternative materials to step in as a substitute for steel. However, while offering certain benefits in weight, these alternative materials offer tradeoffs in strength and formability. On the other hand, POSCO GIGA STEEL offers an ideal solution in terms of strength, weight, and formability for auto manufacturers that must adhere to safety and environmental regulations along with consumer demand.

To compare the strength and impact energy absorption of POSCO GIGA STEEL (CR1180TRIP) and aluminum (Al5083), researchers at the KAIST National Center for Standard Reference Data performed an experiment in which a projectile was fired at three equidistantly spaced pieces of POSCO GIGA STEEL and aluminum.

Traveling at 185 meters per second, researcher Park Myung-joon noted that “the projectile ripped through all three pieces of aluminum while not even breaking one sheet of the POSCO GIGA STEEL.” Saying, “This experiment helped demonstrate how POSCO GIGA STEEL is more than three times stronger than aluminum making it ideal for automotive applications.”

Watch the video below to see how the experiment was designed, set up, and carried out.

POSCO GIGA STEEL is seeing increasing demand with car makers as they realize the dual benefits of strength and formability. At the Seoul Motor Show last month, Renault Samsung Motors and Chevrolet both unveiled new vehicles that were made using POSCO GIGA STEEL instead of aluminum – boosting the car body’s strength and safety for passengers.

Due to POSCO GIGA STEEL’s increased strength and high formability, the new Renault Samsung QM6 was able to maintain excellent safety standards with easy integration into its production process.

POSCO GIGA STEEL is unique because it combines both strength and formability. With strength more than three times stronger than aluminum and with formability properties that allow it to be made into complex auto parts – POSCO GIGA STEEL is the most ideal solution for car makers today.

Throughout April & May, The Steel Wire will explore the uses and benefits of POSCO GIGA STEEL and what POSCO is doing to lead the industry with new automotive steel solutions.

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