– Highlighting the company’s extensive new portfolio of advanced steels
– Introducing POSCO’s “Solution Marketing” approach to customer partnerships
POSCO will exhibit its collection of new steels that satisfy automaker’s growing needs for lightweighting and safety at the 2016 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), which will be held from January 11 through 24 in Detroit, Michigan. This will be the global steel-maker’s first presence at the NAIAS, and the products it will display include POSCO’s TWIP and HPF (Hot Press Forming) steels, as well as 30+ new steels for future vehicle applications.
TWIP steel is POSCO’s highlighted next-generation steel, which only POSCO to date has succeeded in mass-producing for global scale. TWIP dramatically improves strength and formability, enduring a maximum of 100kg of weight per mm² while offering superior formability -5 times greater than other same-strength mass – produced steels. Ideal for application in front and rear vehicle parts such as bumper beams, TWIP has excellent shock absorption propertieswhich could significantly enhance occupant protection in case of accident.
POSCO will also be presenting its hot press forming (HPF) steel at the NAIAS. At 2.0 GPa (Giga-Pascals), this is the world’s strongest steel currently offered for hot press forming.
Normally, when steel strength exceeds 1.5 GPa, its formability decreases. HPF steel mitigates this drawback and offers high formability attributes through heat processing. HPF is mainly applied in center pillars to safeguard occupants in case of accident, and its use has been rapidly extending to other applications for safety and as well as weight savings.
POSCO’s 2.0 GPa HPF steel was first applied in Renault’s Eolab concept car, which attained fuel economies of 100 kilometers on one liter, with 22g of CO² emission. The Eolab was first unveiled at the 2014 Paris Motor Show.
POSCO will also introduce its recently mass-produced high strength, high elongation 1.0 GPa level TRIP steel, as well as its PosM-XF (EXtra Formability) steel currently under development, which offers greater formability attributes than existing TRIP steels
POSCO expects to draw particular attention during the show to its advanced car body concept, which integrates world class automotive steels to render a body 26% lighter than the typical mid-size car body today.
Having received the highest level safety ratings based on the standards of Euro NCAP (Europe New Car Assessment Program) and IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety), POSCO’s car body concept offers auto-makers superior safety-enhancing options while reducing weight and emissions. According to LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), which evaluates total life cycle CO2 emission, POSCO’s car body allows for 50% lower emissions than an IC engine vehicle, and9% lower than the average EV of same size; even less CO² emission than aluminum-body electric cars, which carry about 1/3 the weight of steel.
POSCO is currently supplying automotive steel products to more than 15 global car makers including GM, FCA, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen, as well as many part suppliers around the world. With 10 automotive steel production plants and 24 coil processing centers worldwide, POSCO has been recognized for its high quality products, receiving various ‘Supplier of the Year’ awards from its key OEM customers.
POSCO plans to increase its sales volume of automotive steels from the current 8.6 million metric-tons to 10 million metric-tons by 2018, and to expand the portion of its WP (World Premium) automotive steels to over 70%, by actively executing its ‘Solution Marketing’ strategy, which provides customers not only products itself but also holistic application technology and support in areas such as formability, weldability, etc.
