Steel Mills
AK Steel Awarded $1.8 Million Grant from Dept. of Energy
Written by Sandy Williams
December 21, 2016
AK Steel has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a new grade of energy efficient steel for electric motors.
Under the scope of the project AK Steel will explore different chemical compositions added in to the existing composition of standard electrical steels to increase the resistivity of electrical steels. The target is to realize a potential savings of 11.8 gigawatt hours per year (GWhr/yr).
“AK Steel is pleased to be considered for this collaborative agreement to develop innovative grades of electrical steel for use in electric motors,” said a spokesperson for AK Steel. “This work is consistent with our ongoing research and production of electrical steels for use in the electrical grid, and for other uses such as motors for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.”
The Department of Energy is providing nearly $25 million for 13 projects related to advancing technologies for energy-efficient electric motors. Among the recipients are American Superconductor Corp., Carnegie Mellon, Purdue University and the University of Houston.
Four topic areas were identified by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE):
- Manufacturing of high performance thermal and electrical conductors
- Manufacturing of low-loss silicon steel
- High temperature superconducting wire manufacturing
- Manufacturing of other enabling technologies to increase performance.
“Advancing these enabling technologies has the potential to boost the competitiveness of American manufacturers and take the development of more efficient electric machines a giant step further,” said Mark Johnson, director of the EERE Advanced Manufacturing Office.
The new technologies will also improve motor efficiency for the clean energy sector, including wind, solar, electric vehicle and battery manufacturers.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
BREAKING NEWS: Cliffs plans to idle three mills, cut 950 jobs on ‘insufficient demand and pricing’
Cleveland-Cliffs plans to indefinitely idle its steel mill in Riverdale, Ill., as well as mills in Conshohocken, Pa., and Steelton, Pa. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said all three facilities would be idled on or around June 30. Approximately 950 jobs will be impacted, the company said.
CRU: Usiminas may reduce capex unless government strengthens protection
“The lack of effective measures to create fair competition, amid a surge in subsidized imports, is the main threat to the sustainability of Brazil’s steel industry and its value chain,” CEO Marcelo Chara said.
USS swings to loss in first quarter on N. American flat-rolled segment woes
U.S. Steel CEO praised the company’s resilience, “despite the seasonally low results driven by annual mining logistics constraints in our North American Flat-Rolled segment and lagging spot prices.”
Nucor gives updates on new capacity coming online
Nucor said several of its capital projects will start operations within the next year and provided an update on them.
Algoma swings to loss on ‘market challenges’ and ‘tariff uncertainties’
Canada’s Algoma Steel swung to a loss in the first quarter amid "market challenges," and the company now expects first steel production from its first EAF in the second quarter.