China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited

Technology and development of Fe-Ni-based alloys wide and heavy plates in the photovoltaic industry

Fe-Ni-based alloy wide and heavy plates are in large-scale demand from the rapidly developing worldwide photovoltaic (PV) industry and are designed to solve constraints, such as limited product size, low production efficiency, low qualification rate of ultrasonic tests, low yield and so on. Compared with the currently widely used die casting and non-commonly used vertical continuous casting processes, in 2022, TISCO originally put forward innovative schemes, i.e. alloy N08810 being cast to 200mm large slabs with wide vertical bending continuous casting and vacuum sealing welding bonding to thickness 400mm billets process, and then rolled into 97mm of thickness wide heavy plate with unit weight of 13 tonnes; as well as alloy N08120 being cast to 200mm large slabs with wide vertical bending continuous casting process, and then rolled into 67mm wide heavy plate with unit weight of 8 tonnes.

In both schemes, the plate weight and width enjoy a leading position globally. The innovative solutions reduce the number of welds in poly-crystal silicon reactors, cut the consumption of expensive welding materials, lower the emissions during welding, and realise the short-process manufacturing of Fe-Ni-based alloy wide heavy plates. The energy consumption per tonne of steel and the emission intensity to air are reduced by about 9% respectively. Within 2 years of mass production, nearly 20,000 tonnes of wide heavy plates were delivered to more than 100 poly-crystal silicon reactors, which produced poly-crystal silicon for the PV industry that reduced CO2 emissions by about 1 billion tonnes per annum compared with coal-fired power generation industry.

Compared with the die casting process, the new schemes improve yield by about 18%, the qualification rate by about 46%, and shorten the product delivery cycle from nearly 3 months to less than 2 months. The traditional operation time of the die-casting process applied by other suppliers is generally about 100 days due to the life limit of the ingot mould, while the innovative process scheme can realise quasi-continuous operation. The Fe-Ni-based alloy wide heavy plate produced with the new scheme has better ultrasonic test results, improved high-temperature performance and more uniform grain size.

Besides being widely used in poly-crystal silicon reactors in the PV industry, the plates have also been applied extensively in chemical and environmental protection industries, such as PVC reactors and metallurgical waste acid regenerative roasters. The project has achieved outstanding social and economic benefits and contributed considerably to sustainable development.

JFE Steel Corporation

Water-quench type 1.5GPa ultra-high strength cold rolled steel sheet and new cold pressing technology for automotive parts

With the aim of reducing CO2 emissions, gasoline engine vehicles are improving fuel efficiency by reducing body weight, and sales of electric vehicles are increasing.

Additionally, the protection of occupants and the battery during a collision is also important, and therefore, in recent years, the number of parts with strength exceeding 1.5 GPa has been increasing. Hot stamping is widely used to produce these parts. It has excellent formability compared with the conventional cold press but has problems with material properties and CO2 emissions in the heating process.

In order to overcome these problems, JFE Steel has developed a full-martensite type 1.5 GPa steel (1.5G-MS) and cold press forming technologies that can produce parts with complex shapes. 1.5G-MS is produced by a unique water-quench with a cooling rate exceeding 1,000°C/s based on a continuous annealing process and has superior delayed fracture properties due to high uniformity of microstructure and low alloy design, and superior crash-worthiness due to higher yield strength compared to hot stamped parts.

On the other hand, in the cold press using 1.5G-MS, fractures during pressing and poor dimensional accuracy of parts due to springback are major challenges. In response to these problems, JFE Steel proposed a ‘pre-forming concept’, and then developed a ‘stress reverse formingTM’ for long curved parts for which it is difficult to ensure dimensional accuracy.

This technology utilises the Bauschinger effect (the phenomenon whereby yield stress is reduced when stress is reversed), which occurs remarkably in high-strength steel sheets. In this technology, the stress at the press bottom dead centre, which is a factor of spring back, is greatly reduced, and therefore, the dimensional accuracy can be greatly improved.

Substitution of cold press-formed 1.5G-MS for parts that had been produced by the hot stamping process until now is progressing. In addition to the world’s first use in roof centre reinforcements, 1.5G-MS has been adopted in many structural parts of the Toyota Prius.

JFE Steel believe these technologies will contribute significantly to the spread of electric vehicles in the future.

United States Steel Corporation

Development of a high-strength, high-formable, lean, single-phase, nanoprecipitation-strengthened sheet steel for automotive applications with a minimum tensile strength of 780MPa

The present invention provides a technological breakthrough in new product innovation through electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking and crude steel production (CSP) mini mills using 100% steel scrap in EAF for steelmaking and continuous production from casting to hot rolling and coiling.

The product is a single-phase, lean-alloyed ferritic steel with uniformly distributed nano precipitates of TiC (2-4nm in size), deriving a tensile strength of minimum 780MPa in the final hot rolled steel. The sheet steel manifests high formability indexes such as a hole expansion ratio of more than 40% and forming strain limits compared to equivalent strength Dual-phase 780, Multiphase 780 and Ferritic-Banitic 600 steel grades.

The steel can be supplied in both uncoated and coated conditions with similar product properties. The strength guarantee in hot rolled coil itself eliminates the need for cold rolling and high-temperature annealing. Performance trial at customer sites indicated outstanding steel and edge retention capability formability in stamped parts that outsmarts highly costlier AHSS steels e.g., Dual phase 780.

High formability is imparted by a single-phase ferrite matrix, absence of second-phase Fecarbides at grain boundaries, extreme cleanliness of the matrix and absence of chemical segregation at the centre and microstructural banding. The weldability of the steel is outstanding due to the very low carbon equivalence value of the composition (CIIW <0.30).

The steel has nano-sized TiC in the matrix, which also imparts great resistance to hydrogen-induced cracking in H2-containing atmospheres. The steel composition is 0.06C-1.5Mn-0.30Si-0.15Ti-0.03Al (wt.% max).

The steel is made in EAF with almost 100% scrap and then continuously cast in a thin slab caster at high casting rates of 4.0-4.8m/min and then continuously hot rolled into coils.

The processing thus generates the lowest CO2 emissions per tonne of hot rolled steel made (scope 1 + scope 2) and is calculated to be a mere 410kg per tonne of hot rolled coil made, which is almost 83-85% lesser than that emitted by other conventional steel manufacturing.

voestalpine AG

Tailormade functional steel (tfs)

For the first time, tailormade functional steel (tfs) technology offers the possibility of ‘digitising’ steel as a material and thus the possibility of recording data directly on the steel surface and forwarding it in real-time. Thus, steel becomes a ‘smart product’, completely opening up new application opportunities and market fields. Steel, the material, becomes part of the Internet of Things.

The tfs product is a hot-dip galvanised, organic-coated steel with conductor tracks embedded in the coating layer. These printed conductive structures on steel surfaces were not state-of-the-art before this initiative. This made it possible for voestalpine to apply for several patents in this field. Printed conductive structures existed at that time in the field of plastic films or wood, but not on steel surfaces. Screen printing technology was used to print designs, i.e. different colours, but no functional layers of silver.

This enabled voestalpine to move from purely optical effects to active functional layers. Conductive structures are printed on the hot-dip galvanised steel strip surface, insulation layers and a top coating complete the layer structure. In combination with a power source and appropriate contacting, tfs can take on a variety of functions.

One possible functionality of the integrated conductive tracks is resistance heating, both in the low-voltage range and with 230 V. Due to surface temperatures of up to 100°C, tfs also reaches the infrared range, i.e. a pleasant radiant heat. In addition, there is a wide range of possible applications in preventing condensation and ice formation at ambient temperatures down to -40°C (in refrigerators). Warming shelves for food are already successfully in use. Detection of the load status of shelves or lockers. This can be used, for example, to avoid a loss of turnover due to “out-of-stock” situations in retail or to increase the ‘rotation’ of parcel and locker systems. The integrated sensor technology turns a surface of any size into a control element. The capacitive sensors react to every touch and control, for example, the lighting or open doors. Another tfs functionality is ‘Structural Health/Condition Monitoring’. This means the detection of changes or damage to structures, e.g., burglary detection and the detection of vandalism by triggering an alarm.

tfs is not a ready-made product, but a technology that can be optimally applied to different areas of application. The conductor paths are designed individually for the customer and adapted to the functional requirements.

China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited

Application of Baosteel’s online detailed LCA platform

Baosteel’s LCA team has built an online detailed LCA platform for steel products, which can implement a prompt and consistent LCA study in a similar way as mechanical performance testing. The LCA platform has been used to evaluate the low-carbon product needs of 48 users in automobiles, home appliances, construction, energy industries, etc., of which 10 have entered the technical requirements negotiation stage.

This LCA platform enables:

1. Carbon footprinting of each product (steel coil). The carbon footprint of any product range can be obtained based on the platform, such as specific grades, given batches, end users, etc;
2. Environmental footprint calculation and LCA reporting of products for third-party verification and disclosure to customers;
3. Online analysis of environmental impacts of products under different production paths and processes, providing optimisation suggestions to the research department.

Based on the analysis model, process engineers compared the intermediate product data of the same standard cold product from Baosteel’s Baoshan and Dongshan and discovered an opportunity for improvement, which ended up resulting in a 3% reduction in CO2 emissions of the product by adjusting the heating process.

The platform has also been used for supporting its low-carbon strategic cooperation project with the automotive manufacturing company.

China Steel Corporation (CSC)

Green transition in the steel industry: China Steel Corporation leads carbon footprint inventory and innovation based on LCA

China Steel Corporation (CSC) has been actively implementing the concept of product lifecycle to calculate the carbon footprint of its products. CSC conducted product footprint inventories in 2012, 2017, and 2022, and all of them were verified by third parties.

Combining the existing comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and greenhouse gas inventory experience, CSC built the “Standard Product CO2 Emission Intensity System” (SPCO2) with an innovative approach and expanded the carbon calculation function in the existing system, which will not only help CSC choose low–carbon production paths to produce products, but will also have opportunities to calculate the lowest production cost when carbon pricing occurs in the future, which will help improve the company’s profitability.

In addition, CSC established the Carbon Management Advisory Team in 2022, sharing advanced carbon reduction experiences with customers and the concept of LCA. Based on the customer’s on–site equipment and energy usage conditions, CSC proposes customized improvement suggestions that consider budget and site constraints, identifies carbon reduction hotspots, and creates energy–saving effects.

It is estimated that the total potential reduction in carbon emissions for companies under advisory reaches 2,624.3 tonnes of CO2e, the potential electricity savings amount to 4,874 kilowatt–hours per year, and the economic benefits amount to 15.26 million NTD per year, leading the industrial chain to reduce carbon and create economic benefits.

CITIC PACIFIC Special Steel Group Co., Ltd

Innovation practice in China’s first Product Category Rule (PCR) for special steel used in automotive components

CITIC PACIFIC Special Steel has developed the Product Category Rule (PCR) for special steel used in automotive components in China. In this PCR, it introduces a new environmental benefits quantification model, which can be used to provide quantitative assessments of material characteristics.

The project aims to facilitate and promote the development of green, low-carbon special steel materials, significantly reducing steel consumption, lowering energy usage during auto part making and car operation, and ultimately decreasing costs throughout the automotive industry chain while reducing pollutants and CO2 emissions.

This project has set a model for China’s low-carbon policymaking, and it will guide the release of low-carbon policies in more areas and the creation of scientific and quantitative methods to enhance China’s carbon reduction participation.

CITIC PACIFIC Special Steel has created the environmental benefit related to remanufacturing, which is one of the important areas of the circular economy, with a quantitative evaluation model and will guide the rapid development of related industries with huge economic and social benefits in store.

JSW Steel Limited

Using LCA in new Advanced High Strength Steel product development and promotion

JSW Steel has implemented LCA to validate the sustainability claims of their new steel products – AHSS CRCA 980 – for automotive steel application. The LCA has been used to quantify the environmental footprint of AHSS CRCA 980 and identify areas for improvement.

Compared to the baseline product (CRCA 590 and 780 grade), AHSS CRCA 980 enables a significant reduction in steel consumption (12%) in various auto parts. By using AHSS CRCA 980 for various automotive parts (frame front seat back, reinforcement front body, pillar, lower inner, reinforcement front floor panel), it reduced the weight of the steel production part from 33.23 kg (base steel CRCA 590 & 780) to 29.67 kg. After stamping and cutting in the part production, 27.08 kg AHSS CRCA 980 finally goes into the vehicle as against the previous weight of 30.33 kg, which helps to reduce the environmental performance through the life cycle.

In FY 2022–23, JSW Steel has replaced ~700 tonnes of CRCA 590 & 780 with AHSS CRCA 980, thus delivering benefits to the customers. It helps customers reduce 11,165 tonnes of CO2 scope 3 emissions in FY 22–23.

POSCO Holdings

LCA-based case studies on avoided emissions measurement

POSCO has collaborated with external partners to develop the ‘Accounting and Reporting Guidelines for Avoided GHG Emissions along the Value Chain of Steel Products and By-products’ (hereafter “the Guidelines”) (KBSCD, KOSA, 2021) and has performed 8 case studies on avoided emissions.

The case studies cover 8 eco-friendly products that contribute most to emissions reduction throughout their lifecycle. Product sales volumes, GHG reduction effects, and substitution effects on an LCA basis were used as indicators for quantifying the contribution.

According to the project, they found that by increasing production of low-carbon steel, their sales increased dramatically across their eco-friendly product portfolio in 2022: 655% in high-strength automotive steel plates, 118% in high-efficiency steel plates, and 182% in granulated slag cement. This project also helped to set synergies across the value chain.

The case studies were shared with industry stakeholders at an international seminar that they hosted on the theme of sustainable steel and industry competitiveness in the context of low-carbon supply chains.

Gerdau S.A.

Infinite stage: with Gerdau, steel becomes key attraction at world’s largest music and entertainment festival

Gerdau, Brazil’s largest steel producer, has one of the production models with the lowest environmental impacts in the world, with 70% of its steel production being recycled. However, the reputation of Brazil’s steel industry has often been negatively affected by incidents involving tailing dams. Additionally, the industry has struggled to appeal to new generations as an attractive and modern career choice.

To dissociate itself from this image and reinforce its reputation as a sustainable, modern, and inclusive company, while promoting steel as a key material in society, Gerdau implemented a robust 360° communication plan, which included a unique partnership for a B2B company, while also aiming to connect directly with the general public.

Gerdau supplied steel, a 100% recyclable material, to build the World Stage at Rock in Rio Brazil 2022, the world’s largest music and entertainment festival, which hosted over 700,000 people and was broadcast in Brazil by major television and internet networks.

The stage, standing at 30 meters high and 104 meters wide, utilised 200,000 tonnes of steel and featured performances by 28 renowned artists, including Coldplay and Guns N’ Roses. It was the largest stage ever built since the event was first launched in 1985, and it is designed for infinite reusability.

To announce this partnership, Gerdau adopted an innovative press conference model and maintained massive media mobilisation and digital actions for over five months. Gerdau invited Brazilian superstar Ivete Sangalo, the vocal artist who has the record for most performances on the World Stage, to serve as the sustainability ambassador for Gerdau. Leveraging her visibility among her 25 million followers on social networks, this highlighted Gerdau’s low-carbon steel production model.

The strategy of associating Gerdau steel with Rock in Rio, an event with over 140 million spectators, solidified Gerdau’s position as an industry leader while humanising and decommodisising the company’s and steel’s image.

Gerdau became one of the ten sponsors of the festival with the most unprompted mentions in the media, and the company had two spokespersons among the top five with the most appearances in major media outlets, ahead of brands like Coca-Cola and Heineken

JSW Steel Limited

Earth Care Awards 2022

In 2008, a unique initiative was born through the strategic collaboration of JSW Steel and one of India’s leading media houses, The Times of India: the Earth Care Awards (ECA).

The mission was clear: to identify, honour, and promote the commendable efforts of individuals, communities, and organisations committed to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

In the past 15 years since it was launched, 10 editions of the ECA have been run, and we have recognised and honoured over 79 individuals / organisations / entities across the nation who have done exemplary work in the area of climate change mitigation.

We have showcased the 10th and the 11th edition of our Earth Care Awards. The 10th edition ran between November 2021- June 2022. And the 11th edition commenced in April of 2023 and will culminate in an award ceremony in November of 2023.

POSCO Holdings

‘Miracle of 135 Days’

‘Miracle of 135 Days’ is an inspiring story of resilience achieved through effective risk & crisis communication tools. Last September, one of our steel mills was pummeled by an unprecedented flood event that devastated our operations. Press reports estimated that restoration would take a full year at the least. However, by putting our effective risk & crisis communication strategies to work, we pulled ourselves out of the damage and fully restored the steelworks in a mere 135 days. The communication strategies are rooted in the principles of speed, transparency, sincerity, and continuity.

Speed: We coordinated a rapid communication response before the flood occurred. Right after our operations came underwater, we published daily breaking news stories to fight initial negative public opinion.

Transparency: To dispel rumors and win the trust of stakeholders, we kept internal and external stakeholders up to date on recovery progress with complete transparency.

Sincerity: An honest display of dedication from the leadership and compassion expressed to suppliers and customers helped us win the support of our stakeholders and foster solidarity.

Continuity: After the recovery work was complete, we continued to share our experience with our stakeholders and the general public by compiling documentaries, books, and whitepapers.

Our speedy, transparent, sincere, and continuous communication initiatives garnered support from both the staff and the general public. A total of 1.4 million people from our workforce, group affiliates, and partners joined the recovery efforts. 151 organizations including customers, suppliers, civic groups, the National Fire Agency, the armed forces, and local communities came to our aid. They generously offered urgently needed supplies, e.g., submersible pumps, generators, food trucks. Our careful and emphatic communication approach created a genuine connection with our diverse stakeholders. Our staff and the public were motivated to participate in our recovery effort, and we reciprocated by recognizing their contribution through appreciation dinners and media campaigns. The experience set a powerful precedent of stakeholder engagement and highlighted the industry’s resilience and resourcefulness in the face of a crisis.

Tata Steel

Tata Steel on campus – connecting with the makers of tomorrow

Tata Steel’s cadre program has been successful in recruiting from top engineering and management institutes for decades, but competition from other sectors on campus has been a challenge. To address this, Tata Steel started student engagement programs regionally and expanded to all-India campuses initially, diversifying to a broader base of tech schools in 2022, including women, transgender people, researchers, and designers. As per IMRB Research Study of 2022, Tata Steel’s perception score has improved significantly with 74% respondents (from 36% in 2018) considering us a ‘best-in-class’ company.

In 2022, Tata Steel’s Corporate Communications, HRM, R&D, and Strategy teams have collaborated far more extensively on case studies to showcase our technology-driven products and solutions to the widest and most diverse range of students to date. Our campus initiatives have been updated to engage the younger generation in addressing new-age problems in the steel industry. The initiatives include case studies on making steel products, processes, and technologies sustainable, as well as exploring newer alternate materials and other relevant topics. These initiatives are designed to help young people understand the impact of the steel industry on the environment and society, and to encourage them to find innovative solutions to these challenges. The program structure allows for deeper engagement between leadership and students and provides riveting experiences at our plants and research facilities. These initiatives are changing young people’s perceptions of the steel industry and the opportunities available within it by exposing them to the real world. We have also forged new tie-ups with professional student-focused implementation partners, introduced campus ambassadors, proactively engaged with on-campus committees and SPOCs, had our senior bench as part of campus drives/mentorship, used targeted digital communication, and presented attractive prizes and PPO opportunities.

As a result, our reach has expanded to over 270 campuses in India over the last year. These programs have produced remarkable results for Tata Steel, which has consistently ranked high in independent industry rankings such as Randstad and Unstop. We secured the third spot in the Randstad Employer Brand Research ranking 2023 and the 12th spot in the Top 25 Dream Companies by Unstop awards. Additionally, we were recognized as the Global Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Lighthouse 2023 by the World Economic Forum, making us the only Indian company in the list of eight global companies. Lastly, we were awarded the IWEI Gold Standard Employee for 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Tenaris

Tenaris for Energy Transition

Tenaris set a clear agenda to further reduce its environmental footprint in accordance with global decarbonization objectives, with efforts focused both on decarbonizing its processes and developing a solid product portfolio to accompany the energy transition.

To ensure consistent communications aiming at positioning Tenaris brand in energy transition market niches, while avoiding any greenwashing tendencies, an omnichannel communications plan has been rolled out worldwide, combining an innovative approach with technical aspects and commercial needs.

For these reasons, both Tenaris product engineers and sales teams were involved as thought leaders in articles both for Tenaris’ website and trade magazines, webcasts, podcasts, presentations at technical conferences and main events, videos, and social media postings.

With the aim of raising awareness in the hydrogen, CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage), geothermal market niches, and scientific communities about Tenaris’s advanced offer of products and services and maintaining constant visibility throughout the year to support commercial teams in getting new contacts and expanding the business, the energy transition communications plan has been deployed through several initiatives. To be highlighted in particular:

• Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Tech Talks series and related podcast production.
• #TenarisInAction video series dedicated to energy transition projects.
• A consistent calendar of participations in reference events/trade-shows worldwide.
• Thought leadership actions with our experts present in technical conferences/panel discussions.
• Constant editorial production to cover main ET (Energy Transition) projects/initiatives/research activities.

United States Steel Corporation

Steel Stories by U. S. Steel Podcast

Steel Stories” by U. S. Steel is a podcast promoting thought leadership and innovation within the steel industry. Hosted by technology and business journalist, David Kirkpatrick, each episode features compelling discussions with industry experts and visionaries as we delve into the critical events that are shaping the future of the steel industry, including decarbonization, net-zero steel products, green steel, technological advancements, and more.

“Steel Stories” has released five episodes since launching in March 2023, each weaving together engaging narratives, expert insights, and first-hand accounts to provide a comprehensive understanding of the steel industry’s future.

To establish a strong foundation, “Steel Stories” weaves historical narratives that highlight the pivotal moments in the steel industry’s evolution. By examining landmark projects and technological advancements, “Steel Stories” aims to highlight the industry’s resilience and transformation over time.

With a focus on sustainability and eco-consciousness becoming more critical than ever, each episode also explores how the steel industry is adapting to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Finally, to make the steel industry relatable to a broad audience, we reserve a portion of each conversation to how steel remains an integral part of modern society and a driving force behind progress.

In addition to traditional episodes, “Steel Stories” incorporates interactive elements, such as links to resource websites and images of projects being discussed, all posted in the episode notes.

Through its captivating blend of storytelling, expert interviews, and forward-thinking discussions, “Steel Stories” seeks to redefine the narrative surrounding the steel industry, shedding light on its transformative power and vital role in shaping a sustainable and prosperous future.