OREANDA-NEWS. October 16, 2014. POSCO recently applied new steel grades to the car body by cooperating with Renault. It was the first to domestically produce high corrosion resistant stainless steel for nuclear power plant condensers, showing that its technological development is having an impact.

Renault will show off its Eolab concept car at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. This concept car was produced with the application of an innovative solution by focusing on improved fuel efficiency and reduced weight, in order to take preemptive measures to meet the environmental regulatory changes sweeping the European automobile industry, such as the limit (95g/?) for carbon dioxide (CO?) emissions.

POSCO contributed to lightening the car body by applying new steel grades in the development project of Renault Eolab concept car, such as 900TWIP steel, 2000HPF steel, and magnesium (Mg) panel. Moreover, the company carried out a variety of solution marketing activities, such as participating in the production of demo car components. In particular, POSCO`s magnesium panel was used on the roof of a vehicle weighing approximately 10?, thereby reducing the roof weight down to around 4.5.

Renault`s five partners participated in Renault`s Eolab concept car development project along with Michelin and Faurecia. With all other project members being European companies, and the fact that POSCO is the only steel producer to be part of it, POSCO has shown itself to be acknowledged for its leading technological competences in the advanced European automobile market.

High corrosion resistant stainless steel developed by POSCO is considered to be a model case of solution marketing that innovated customer value.

High corrosion resistant stainless steel is a steel grade developed by Yong-soo Park, a new materials engineering professor at Yonsei University. It does not corrode, even in severe environments, as it has corrosion resistance that is dozens of times superior to general stainless steel. Given the complexity of the process of manufacturing high corrosion resistant stainless steel, it has been produced by only a few companies in Japan and Europe, with Korea being fully dependent on imports.

By beginning commercial production of high corrosion resistant stainless steel, POSCO is able to replace expensive imported goods and rank alongside other leading steel producers with the world`s best technical skills in the field. This steel is scheduled to be supplied first to United Arab Emirates (UAE) Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4, for which Hyundai Heavy Industries won the contract.

Immediately after Hyundai Heavy Industries won the contract for the UAE Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4, POSCO pursued ways to commercially produce new steel that will replace the expensive imported materials for the condensers used in nuclear power plants together with the client. To make a special alloy steel that has the highest corrosion resistance, the core technology was to control trace elements. As for POSCO, researchers and engineers of the research center, stainless steel production and sales departments, and the technology solution center cooperated for 2 years, and finally succeeded in mass-producing the steel grade demanded by the clients. This steel grade is expected to contribute to improving original technological skills in Korea and increasing exports.

As a key material for energy power generation facilities, high corrosion resistance stainless steel will see its use and increase in demand. Aside from nuclear power plant condensers, its use is gradually increasing in the desulfurizers of high-efficiency thermal power plants and reverse-osmosis desalination facilities. In response, POSCO plans to secure the world`s highest quality and cost competitiveness by diversifying steel grades and developing and applying differentiated production technologies.