Hyundai Steel has recently completed development of its new product “1.5GPa MS (gigapascal martensitic steel).”
1.5GPa MS (gigapascal martensitic steel) boasts vast improvements in flatness and crack resistance over existing steel plate products with similar supply specifications.
Hyundai Steel named it as “premium 1.5GPa MS steel plate” to differentiate it from other existing products.
To achieve the uniquely high strength of martensitic steel, 1.5GPa MS steel plate generally undergoes the process of rapid cooling during manufacturing, a practice that thus far has yielded only limited success in producing commercialized automotive materials due to attendant quality issues such as reduced flatness and cracking caused by hydrogen permeation.
Hyundai Steel was able to resolve such issues with optimized alloy element formulations and newly developed technologies that substitute rapid cooling with heat processing and minimize hydrogen penetration to prevent cracking. A revamped martensitic steel manufacturing process that features these innovations has given birth to 1.5GPa MS, with its high tensile strength of 1.5 gigapascals and flatness of less than 3 mm. A premium steel plate product that retains all the advantages of its predecessors without their weaknesses, Hyundai Steel expects 1.5GPa MS to be used in a wide range of applications, including EV battery housings, bumpers, and roof side moldings.
The world has caught on to the importance of protecting the planet, and carmakers are working in earnest to supply EVs to the market which are rapidly emerging as a mode of eco-friendly transportation. Today, carmakers are also focused on taking EV manufacturing technology to the next level. To this end, automakers are making EVs lighter in order to increase mileage and improving their collision safety to protect passengers and batteries.
An EV battery housing needs to be lightweight and impact-resistant, requirements which 1.5GPa MS fulfills. Hyundai Steel is confident that 1.5GPa MS will help automakers achieve their goals of optimizing EV components, including battery housing, so that they can advance into the market for EV-related materials.
Hyundai Steel has also recently succeeded in developing an offshoot of 1.5GPa MS from galvannealed steel, a world first, and is now preparing its market launch. The high tensile strength and corrosion resistance of this even more advanced 1.5GPa MS make it an ideal material for the side sills of vehicles.