Introduced POSCO’s new management vision, key business areas, and Carbon Reduction strategy

POSCO participated in the first Stanford Sustainability Summit (S3), hosted by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and Sustainability, which took place over two days starting on July 8th. During the event, POSCO shared its efforts and achievements in sustainable management.

▲ At the Stanford Sustainability Summit, which took place over two days starting on July 8th, Kyeong-chan Kim, President of POSCO America, presented POSCO’s sustainable management initiatives.

The inaugural Stanford Sustainability Summit brought together global changemakers in sustainability to discuss solutions for climate change, agricultural and food security, population issues, and poverty, seeking pathways for our society’s sustainable development.

Stanford University invited 40 entities from 20 countries—including entrepreneurs, nonprofits, policymakers, and researchers—who lead change and innovation towards a sustainable society to this summit. Among the large corporations invited were POSCO, Tata, SK, and Orsted.

Selected as a changemaker for this summit, POSCO has been recognized for leading the development of hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology as a steelmaker with world-class competitiveness, contributing to creating an sustainable future.

Representing POSCO at the summit, Kyeong-chan Kim, President of POSCO America, presented the new management vision of “Materials Creating Future, Innovation for World-Class,” covering POSCO’s key business areas, management strategies, and Carbon Reduction strategies. He also emphasized the importance of materials and energy for developing a sustainable industrial ecosystem and stressed the need for national consensus and institutional support to advance POSCO’s sustainable future materials business.

Professor William Barnett’s research team at Stanford University has formally included POSCO’s sustainable management and achievements as a business case study. Additionally, POSCO America is collaborating with the Management Accounting Association of Korea and Professor Lee Moo-won from Yonsei University to submit a case study on POSCO’s cost accounting system, PosPLOT, developed considering carbon costs, for inclusion in Harvard Business School’s case studies.

Neo Mobility: Electric Vehicles that are Eco-Friendly & Safe

It will not be long until electric vehicles become popular means of transportation. POSCO, which makes the cathode and anode materials used in batteries for electric vehicles, is ready to support this new mobility trend: “POSCO ESM”, a POSCO affiliate, produces high quality cathode material, “PG-NCM(POSCO Gradient-Ni-Co-Mn)” and “POSCO CHEMTECH”, another affiliate of POSCO, is currently the only anode manufacturing company in Korea.

Megacity: Future City with Long Span Bridges, Skyscrapers, and Modular Houses

POSCO is at the heart of the future cities made of long span bridges, skyscrapers and modular houses. A “super long span bridge” is classified as such when the distance between towers is greater than 1km. The cables that connect the towers and the hangers that support these cables need to be made with stronger steel materials. PosCable (“POSCO wire for Cable”) is steel made with multiple thin wires, each thinner than a drinking straw but strong enough to hold a 4.5 ton truck.

Eco-Energy: Alternative Energy Made in Eco Island

POSCO dreams of creating an “Energy Island” where renewable energy is generated by eco-friendly materials only. Among the various methods of producing clean energy, wind power has been the preferred method due to its low cost. Even wind turbines used to generate wind power can vary in terms of life span and efficiency depending on the material used. Using Hyper NO, POSCO’s premium Hyper Non-oriented Electrical steel can dramatically increase the efficiency of the wind tower. Also, applying PosWIND (“POSCO Windpower”) to turbine bearings can increase durability.

Premium Living: Premium Appliances with a Touch of Style

POSCO World Premium Products also permeate our homes. “PosMAC”, POSCO Magnesium Aluminium alloy Coating product, is used on outdoor air-conditioning units to protect against external influences including dust, water and heat. Also, POSCO’s surface-treated steel sheets enable stylish designs on home appliances. PosART(“POSCO ARTistic Steel”) enables full-color printing on steel with resolution 4 times higher than original steel sheets, to overcome design limitations for home appliances.

See how POSCO’s state-of-the-art technology is powering the megatrends of the future in the card news here.

As a part of this effort, we are going to share the perspective from the expert of ‘Green energy’, Yun jung, Jin who is the senior researcher at POSCO Research Institute (POSRI).

Steel is nearly 100% reusable in consideration of Life Cycle Approach(Source: World Steel)

How do we achieve sustainability?

No one would deny the importance of sustainability. But how do we achieve it?

According to Jin, the answer can be found in the ‘Life Cycle Approach’ model. This model provides a better idea of how sustainability can be achieved. Life Cycle Approach seeks to prevent the root causes that can threaten the environment by identifying and considering all stages of a product’s life cycle, beginning with the extraction of raw materials.

Take vehicle emission as an example, it is widely known that electric vehicles produce far less pollution than gasoline vehicles. However, a closer look at vehicle operation would reveal that electric vehicles also produce a fair amount of pollution by burning carbon when generating electricity.

Majority of Steel product we discard is easily recycled(Source: GenesisSteel)

Can Steel be life-cycled?

So how does steel fit into the Life Cycle Approach?

Jin showed little bit more on details of the reasons why steel should be considered as an important eco-friendly as product or a material. Beginning with the manufacturing stage, the by-products of steel production, such as slag, can be recycled to make raw materials for road construction. Once in use, its longevity is a great advantage in terms of sustainability efforts. Steel used in buildings and various infrastructures boast a life span of almost 100 years. Steel used in vehicles and various machines also can last over 10 years.

SEE ALSO: Recycled Steel Changing the Way the World Uses Metal

Lifespan of steel is way longer than we anticipate(Source:World Steel)

After it has served its purpose, steel is still highly recyclable and boasts a recycling rate of nearly 90%. Because it can be infinitely recycled while maintaining its inherent property and quality intact, steel is considered the most suitable material for circulation economy.

POSCO’s Clean advanced technology may be the solution for green society

Steel is essential for our sustainable future

Jin mentioned that the POSRI reports clearly illustrates that various ways of steel can be applied to the Life Cycle Approach and its viability as an integral element for sustainability. POSCO strives to stay ahead of the curve by utilizing its cutting-edge technology to develop innovative products and solutions, such as the GIGA STEEL and FINEX® smelting processes.

Finally, Jin assured that with the Life Cycle Approach in mind, POSCO takes pride in all the efforts in reducing greenhouse emissions and in paving the way towards a sustainable society.

SEE ALSO: How Steel Makes the Circular Economy Go ‘Round’

The U.S. is headed towards a major shortage of truck drivers. (Source: The New York Times)

However, the U.S. is short of about 30,000 to 35,000 drivers for every 750,000 trucks, and the number of driver shortages may reach up to 245,000 by 2022. That’s because right now, the average age of truck drivers in the U.S. is 55, and potential new recruits are choosing to sign up for construction or manufacturing jobs instead.

All this leads to climbing prices for freight transportation. Last December, at the peak of holiday deliveries, U.S. companies saw the highest monthly average rate for freight transportation since 2010. The high operation costs and lower profit margins are putting a heavy strain on industries. Heading into 2018, companies have to compete for carriers as there is just one truck available for every 12 loads.

As a result, Major automakers are heavily invested in autonomous electric freight trucks such as Tesla, Volvo and Daimler, and there are many proponents of an eco-friendly, safe and driverless future for freight transportation. However, autonomous freight trucks are not a realistic option for companies just yet. At a time of transition between the old and the new, there is a serious lack of capacity in freight transportation, and companies are left to deal with the higher costs for delivery.  

But good news right around the corner

Although the driver shortage is a major concern, it is a natural phenomenon in the transition towards a safer, more sustainable and more efficient freight transportation industry.

Uber’s autonomous freight trucks are in operation with a human safety driver on the highways of Arizona. (Source: Future Car)

Already, Uber has its autonomous trucks on the highways of Arizona. Every truck does have a human driver present to take over anytime, and the company uses transfer hubs to transfer goods between highways and local roads. Autonomous trucks are the safest and most efficient for use on highways, so human drivers transport goods from highways to the final destination. The company is working to operate without human backup drivers in the near future.

Waymo’s autonomous freight trucks have gone through almost a decade of testing and is now delivering supplies for Google in Atlanta. (Source: Wired)

Waymo is another company with autonomous trucks already in operation. Just this month, the company’s autonomous freight trucks started transferring equipment for Google data centers in Atlanta.

Embark was the first company to complete a successful coast to coast run with an autonomous truck. (Source: Micro Power Grids)

Embark also has its autonomous trucks in operation. Earlier this year, the company made a successful 2,400-mile trip from California to Florida with a human safety driver on board. The company has plans to commercialize its services in the coming years.

SEE ALSO: 6 Cities On the Road to a Driverless Future

Speeding up delivery

Numerous other automotive and tech companies besides those mentioned above are getting ready for autonomous freight transportation. The faster autonomous freight trucks are able to operate commercially, the faster industries can cut costs, improve delivery times and reduce their carbon footprint.

This means software technology, high-capacity batteries as well as the right automotive materials will play a crucial role in the future of the freight transportation industry, as well as in related industries. This transformation will open up new business opportunities for automakers, software companies as well as steel manufacturers like POSCO.

For autonomous truck manufacturers looking for ultra-lightweight yet super strong materials for optimal fuel efficiency, POSCO developed POSCO GIGA STEEL. The advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) material is 3 times stronger and 3.5 times cheaper than aluminum. Steel is also 100 percent recyclable and an electric vehicle made of AHSS requires 30 percent less energy than aluminum throughout its entire lifecycle. POSCO also developed a premium non-oriented electrical steel called Hyper NO for the most advanced and sustainable electric motors.

SEE ALSO: Why Electrical Steel Can Make All The Difference In EV Motors

POSCO also works with its auto partners to research and provide customized technology and materials solutions for their autonomous EVs. In the midst of a critical shortage of truck drivers, POSCO hopes to speed up autonomous EV adoption both for personal and commercial transportation and aid the transition into a more efficient and environmentally sustainable economy.

Cover photo courtesy of Time.

They also have every incentive to do so. From 2010 to 2016, the price of wind and solar energy dropped by 60 and 80 percent, respectively. With the global demand for energy projected to rise 30 percent by 2040, green energy producers and related manufacturers will see an increase in business activity, including the steel industry. Steel is used to produce every single type of renewable energy, and demand for high-quality steel is looking to increase.

Take a look at some of the first movers transitioning to renewable energy and the biggest drivers of renewable energy demand in the global market.  

SEE ALSO: Building a Green Energy Future with Steel

Google, the biggest corporate consumer of renewable energy

At the end of 2017, Google purchased 3 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power all of its 15 data centers and offices around the world for an entire year. Google started purchasing wind power from a farm in Iowa back in 2010. Today, Google purchases most of its renewable energy from wind and solar energy farms in South Dakota, Oklahoma and Iowa.

Inside Google’s colorful and green data centers. (Source: Business Insider)

What’s significant about Google’s renewable energy consumption is that even if it does not use up all of the energy for its own operations, the company sells it back into the market in regions where they operate. Then, they retire their Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), meaning it is no longer re-usable or re-issuable. In doing so, it removes energy supplies from the market and forces producers to keep generating new renewable energy supplies, instead of trading existing RECs. Google is fully backing the renewable energy industry, creating more business for generators and materials suppliers such as steel.

SEE ALSO: India: A Rising Sun in the Global Renewable Energy Industry

With the rapid growth of internet-based services, data centers are also increasing, engulfing extensive amounts of energy. Data centers already account for 3 percent of the world’s entire electricity consumption, and 2 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to that of the airline industry. It’s a relief that companies like Google, with a growing reliance on data centers, are finding sustainable ways to fuel their business, and other companies are following suit.

Apple’s green data centers

Apple is another company that is making bold strides toward renewable energy. The company stated all of its data centers run on 100 percent renewable energy and its operations over 23 different countries run on 93 percent renewable energy.

Apple’s data centers run on 100 percent renewable energy. (Source: Digital Trends)

Apple joined RE100 in 2016, but the company is no newcomer to green energy. In 2015, Apple issued USD 1.5 billion in green bonds to finance eco-friendly business endeavors. Then in 2017, Apple issued another USD 1 billion in green bonds in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.

In 2017, President Trump shocked the world by withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. (Source: Fortune)

Because Apple’s business also includes manufacturers who do not follow the same sustainable practices, Apple’s next challenge is to filter through their suppliers and select those that are committed to powering their operations with renewable energy. So far, 8 major suppliers have come on board.

Microsoft and Facebook are on their way

Microsoft’s global operations have been fully powered by renewable energy since 2014. This includes manufacturing, licensing and logistics. All of its data centers are 100 percent carbon neutral, but Microsoft is planning a slow but sure transition towards renewable energy. As of now, about 44 percent of the electricity that powers Microsoft data centers come from wind, solar and hydropower, and their first target is to reach 50 percent by the end of this year. They have also stated they will strive for 60 percent in the next 10 years.

Microsoft is building new data centers all over the world, including the UK (pictured), and plans to run them on green energy. (Source: WindowsAble)

Just like Microsoft, Facebook looks to power 50 percent of all its data centers with renewable energy by the end of this year after successfully reaching its 25 percent target back in 2015. Facebook has a large presence all over the globe, and already, their data centers inLuleå, Sweden, Altoona, Iowa, Fort Worth, Texas and their Menlo Park headquarters are running on 100 percent green energy. Moreover, Facebook plans to power their newest data centers to be built in Ireland, Denmark, New Mexico, Nebraska, Ohio and Virginia with renewable energy.

Facebook’s newest data center in Virginia will run on 100 percent renewable energy. (Source: Adweek)

The largest and most influential corporations in the world that operate the ever-growing, energy-extensive data centers are making the switch to green energy. Their changing business practices will further boost the renewable energy industry, create new jobs and open new business opportunities for the steel industry. As steel plays a vital role in supplying parts for renewable energy infrastructure, high-quality steel solutions will be in increasingly high demand.  

Cover photo courtesy of Rambus.

Watch hundreds of steel cans being produced at a Soudronic canning factory.

Advantages of Steel Packaging

Steel is one of the most commonly used packaging materials by manufacturers, because it is widely available, cost-effective and easy to work with. Steel packages can be customized to just about any shape and size depending on the needs of the business, and the continuously improving quality of steel lets manufacturers use less material without losing rigidity.

Steel as a packaging material is tamper-resistant, durable and has an extremely long shelf life, hence the reason why canned food seems to last forever. At the end of its life cycle, steel is 100 percent recyclable and does not lose any of its properties or qualities in the process. Plus, at least 25 percent of every steel can must be made of recycled steel, and its magnetic properties make it even easier to recover for recycling.

Steel is 100 percent recyclable and the most-recycled material in the world. (Source: Causeway Coast and Glens)

According to the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (APEAL), steel packages are the most recycled packages out of all packaging materials, and its recycling rates keep climbing. In Europe, over 77 percent of steel packages are recycled and in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, rates exceed 90 percent.

New Innovations

Today, there are numerous new technologies taking steel packaging to a whole new level. Higher-quality alloys of steel and innovative new methods for processing steel are making everyday products safer, more convenient and efficient. Here’s some examples to show the advances being made in steel packaging.

Bacteria-free stainless steel surfaces

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology recently invented a new way to fight harmful bacteria such as E. coli on steel surfaces. Instead of the traditional antibiotics that are temporary and can aid bacteria in developing resistance, this new process uses an electrochemical etching chemical process to create thousands of tiny nano spikes on stainless steel surfaces. By switching up the levels of voltage and current flow in the electrochemical process, the researchers ended up with a rougher, “spiked” surface.

The spikes are about 25 nanometers long, and will kill both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria on contact, without damaging human cells. The human eye cannot tell the difference between nanotextured steel and regular steel, and the technology increases corrosion resistance as well.

Nanotextured steel can kill bacterial upon contact without harming human cells. (Source: The Engineer)

Though the technology is new and is awaiting additional tests, it could be a permanent solution to treating bacteria and potentially change the medical and food industries completely. Nanotextured stainless steel can be used not only for packaging, but the manufacturing equipment that come in to contact with food. Researchers are also working to apply the technology to spine implants and other implants that come in direct contact with the body.

The world’s lightest 3-piece aerosol can

German company Henkel and packaging manufacturer Ardagh Group developed a new, sustainable aerosol spray can for Henkel’s beauty products using high-quality steel. The can is a mere 0.13mm thick, using up 15 percent less materials than its counterparts, but is also more rigid. The world’s lightest aerosol can also reduce C02 output by 3500 metric tons and water consumption by 900,000 cubic meters per year.

High-quality steel makes this aerosol eco-friendly. (Source: Pack World)

The development is in line with Henkel’s efforts to contribute to a circular economy. Thus the company aimed to design a packaging material that is not only effective and sustainable to produce, but is also 100 percent recyclable.

As the most recycled packaging material in the world, steel will continue to package food, beauty products, paints, chemicals and more manufactured goods. Especially with advances in the quality of steel alloys and innovative ways to process steel, manufacturers can be assured their products will be safe and sound in effective, cost-efficient, sustainable and safe packages.

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.

Scientists predict 2018 may be a tumultuous year for earthquakes. (Source: Take Two)

As structural damage is the leading cause of injury and deaths during an earthquake, architects, engineers and builders need to make sure buildings are built with the right materials and design.  

SEE ALSO: What it Takes to Build a Natural-Disaster-Proof House

The Materials

The most dangerous type of earthquakes are ones that trigger horizontal movements, because tall buildings are better at resisting vertical loads than horizontal ones. These ground motions can damage building foundations in a matter of minutes, causing severe injuries and deaths. Building a structure to withstand seismic waves starts with the right materials with the right properties, and steel is by far the most widely used material for building earthquake-resistant buildings.

According to the World Steel Association, ductile buildings are safer as they dissipate energy from seismic waves. A building will typically have ductile parts that can undergo plastic deformations without complete structural failure during an earthquake. Steel is the most common type of material for such parts.

Moreover, due to the law of inertia, the lighter the building, the less force seismic waves will exert on the building. That’s why it’s important, especially for taller buildings, to be made of light and flexible materials such as steel that can “bend” with the movement of earthquakes. On average, multi-story steel buildings are 60 to 70 percent lighter and 10 times stronger than concrete-framed buildings of the same size.

The Design

With steel, builders can add vital designs and reinforcements to keep the structure standing through an earthquake. Here’s some of the most widely-used measures.

Cross braces transfer the force of an earthquake to the ground. (Source: Earthquakes in India)

The structural integrity of buildings can be reinforced with steel cross braces that frame the exterior of a building in an x-shape. Ultimately cross braces can transfer the force of seismic waves back down to the ground, instead of letting the building take the hit. Builders can also reinforce the walls of buildings with additional vertical walls, or shear walls, that add stiffness to the frame of the building, allowing it to resist swaying or horizontal movements.

Base isolators absorb much of the shock of seismic waves. (Source: Embelton)

Base isolation involves separating the building from the foundation so that the isolators to absorb shock from the earthquake. The isolators allow the building to move at a slower pace because they dissolve a large part of the shock. Moment-resisting frames also effectively dissipate energy from floors and roofs to the building’s foundation and the stiff yet flexible frames can change shape during an earthquake. Although more costly, moment-resisting frames enable buildings to withstand an earthquake with excessive horizontal movement.

Putting it into practice with POSCO’s Steel House

In September 2017, Young Bae Kim’s home in Gyeongju province, Korea was hit with a 5.8 magnitude earthquake, just 8.9 km from where the earthquake started. Surprisingly, Kim’s home was unscathed. “I could feel the ground shake, but the house was completely under control.” Kim expressed.

Kim lives in one of the Steel Houses built by POSCO employees who volunteer to build homes and bridges for communities in need. Each Steel House is made with POSCO’s lightweight structural steel known for its durability, fire resistance and vibration resistance. The homes also incorporate PosMAC, a specialized galvanized steel that is 5 to 10 times more corrosion-resistant than standard steel and is more durable and affordable.

POSCO Employees volunteer their time to build steel houses in rural communities.

Because all the Steel Houses survived the Gyeongju earthquake while other homes were damaged, more and more people in Korea are choosing steel for their homes over traditional building materials such as wood and concrete. The same trend can be observed in Japan, where earthquakes are much more frequent. In order to build more earthquake-resistant buildings, steel is still the best solution available.

Cover photo courtesy of CNN.

CEO Kwon explores CES 2018

As such, CEO Kwon made his first official visit to the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this month to stay on top of the latest trends in connectivity and smart solutions that can be applied to the manufacturing process in smart factories.

SEE ALSO: POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon Visits CES 2018

Ultimately, a smart factory for POSCO would entail using smart sensors to pick up data, smart analysis through AI and automated production processes. Moreover, the smart factory would store and analyze its big data and apply it to make future improvements and prevent malfunctions. Aligned with many of POSCO’s business growth engines, major topics and themes at CES 2018 included smart homes, smart cities, autonomous cars and AI, and more than 3,900 companies put forth their best innovations.

Smart Connectivity

As more and more cities undergo smart transformations, the next big trend will be data collection and analysis through 5G connectivity. It was no surprise to see numerous innovations in smart transportation, smart grid, public safety, healthcare, data analytics and more at CES 2018. Moreover, city officials from early-adapting cities such as Kansas City, Miami and Las Vegas took to the stage to discuss their cities’ smartization plans. Some of the topics discussed included using GIS mapping software, smart construction, inclusive technology and autonomous transportation to enhance citizens’ productivity, efficiency, safety and well-being.

CES 2018 was a platform for smart city discussion. (Source: Bosch)

CEO Kwon visited related booths to learn about new technologies POSCO could apply to its businesses. Currently, POSCO’s smart factories are run by POSCO ICT’s smart platform called PosFrame, which allows the factory to apply a digital genome map to operations via data collection, instantly convert smart factory initiatives in domains, act as a common platform for new technologies and apply the same, standardize smart factory model to other facilities through reusable software.

Also at this year’s CES, POSCO ICT signed an MOU with DPR Construction, a leading smart construction company to apply PosFrame to construction sites for more efficient, cost-effective and smarter construction processes.

Smart Transportation

Another major theme at this year’s CES was mobility. Namely, autonomous and electric mobility. Companies from all across the board from traditional car manufacturers and software companies to gaming companies lined up to showcase their new innovations.

Even as the market for sustainable EVs and autonomous EVs look to expand in 2018 and beyond, EVs only make up about 1 percent of the global fleet of cars and there’s still a ways to go before EVs become the norm. Drivers need to feel safe in their EVs or autonomous EVs, want greater range on a single charge and need to see more charging infrastructure in their communities before making the switch.

SEE ALSO: Ask an Expert: Electric Vehicles and the Future of the Automotive Market

What’s more is that just because a vehicle runs on electric batteries, it doesn’t automatically mean the vehicle is eco-friendly or transmits less harmful emissions. Manufacturers and consumers alike have to take a lifecycle approach to assess the car’s impact on the environment from production to end of life recycling.

POSCO works with numerous partners to develop leading solutions for electric vehicles.

That’s why POSCO is working with automakers to come up with vital solutions in the auto industry for a greener future. It supplies partners with an advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) called POSCO GIGA STEEL that is both lightweight and super strong, allowing cars to travel with less energy without compromising passenger safety.

POSCO is also a lithium provider and has developed an innovative technology to speed up the extraction process, saving time, costs and damage to the environment. It also works with car makers to apply premium electric steel to partners’ electric motors to increase efficiency and cut costs.

With so many exciting new innovations and technologies surrounding EVs, POSCO will undoubtedly play a significant role in ensuring automakers have the tools they need to realize a green future.  POSCO will work to stay ahead of newly emerging technologies to enhance the efficiency, sustainability and performance of all of its solutions.

Since last February, CEO Kwon has visited Siemens, GE and other businesses in Silicon Valley to explore new technologies and expand POSCO Group’s smartization plan. At CES 2018, CEO Kwon saw first-hand the latest smart technologies and plans to implement them to all of POSCO’s core businesses including steel, construction, IT and energy. He also met officials from leading smart companies such as GE and DPR Construction, and examined possibilities for cooperation over commercializing POSCO’s smart solutions.

POSCO Kwon met Heilmann Matthias, President and CEO of Digital Solutions at Baker Hughes General Electric (BHGE). Matthias oversees the digital solution business of GE Group, and the two discussed the development of PosFrame, POSCO’s proprietary smart platform, its compatibility with Predix, GE’s smart platform, as well as the possibility for joint commercialization.

In particular, POSCO ICT is planning to sign an MOU with DPR Construction, the world leader in Smart Construction, to collaborate on smart projects and find opportunities to apply new ICT technologies to construction. Through this MOU, the two companies will cooperate on projects such as constructing and operating highly-efficient, low-cost data centers and smart factories controlled by PosFrame.

CEO Kwon also visited the automobiles, home appliances, smart city and smart home exhibition booths. He examined the latest tech trends of IT utilization in steel-consuming industries to develop compatible materials and steel solutions.

He also made sure to explore electric vehicle (EV) batteries and new IT technologies surrounding EVs, as lithium materials are the new growth engine of the company. CEO Kwon also evaluated the possibility of securing new markets for the group’s construction business at home and abroad.

POSCO Group plans to continue searching for new, innovative solutions to apply to its smartization efforts and actively develop domestic and overseas data centers and smart factory markets.

Cover photo courtesy of BGR.