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| NanoSteel Vice-President Bob Marini accepting the Platts Global Metals Breakthrough Solution of the Year Award in London last Thursday night. |
The award came in recognition of NanoSteel’s advanced high strength steel, which brings the combination of both high strength and high formability to automotive lightweighting.
In April, the companies announced delivery of their product to General Motors for initial testing. The automaker’s venture arm, GM Ventures, bought equity in NanoSteel in 2012.
AHHS is viewed as a breakthrough in the drive to meet rising global fuel-economy regulations. Production of the material, targeted to the $100 billion-plus automotive steel market, is the result of a multi-year joint development program between NanoSteel and AK Steel.
“We believe this product brings optimal properties to automotive engineers for reducing structural weight without compromising safety and ride-quality requirements,” said NanoSteel president and CEO David Paratore. While significantly lighter, AHHS can be manufactured and fabricated like regular steel, making it more cost-effective than alternative metals and easier to integrate into a supply chain that has produced steel automotive components for more than 100 years.
Although its corporate headquarters are in Providence, R.I., NanoSteel’s research and development is still in Idaho Falls. The company came out of INL in 2002 when Dr. Dan Branagan, now NanoSteel’s chief technical officer, decided he had something that could change the world.
Since 2002, NanoSteel has developed metallic coatings, additive manufacturing powders, and sheet steel protected by over 300 patents. The company is privately held and funded by lead shareholders EnerTech, Fairhaven Capital, and GM Ventures.
The market for advanced high-strength steel is expected to reach $55 billion in 2020 and $77 billion in 2025, according to an article earlier this month in American Metal Market.
For more information, visit www.nanosteelco.com or follow them on Twitter, @NanoSteelCo.
