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
Nucor reports IT systems breach
Nucor said it temporarily and proactively halted some production operations at various locations.
Cliffs talks DOE funding, blast furnace relining schedule
The future of two projects supported in part by funding through the Department of Energy remains uncertain.
Cleveland-Cliffs open to asset sales
Meanwhile, its Canadian operations have been hurt by the broader tariffs proposed by the United States.
As Q1 loss balloons, Cliffs pledges to cut costs, streamline operations
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. gushed red ink in the first quarter, and pledged to stem the bleeding by idling inefficient, “loss-making operations” and increasing focus on its core automotive business.
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.