the
world’s sixth-largest steelmaker, took a step forward to supply a global energy
major ExxonMobil with steel for liquefied natural gas storage tanks.
South Korea’s top steel manufacturer said on
Wednesday it has won technical approval from the US energy producer for its
high manganese steel that contains a large amount of manganese of up to 30% to
improve performance, such as high strength, low-temperature toughness, wear
resistance, and non-magnetic properties.
POSCO has been working for the technical
qualification since July 2020 to supply the steel material for ExxonMobil’s
projects to build eco-friendly LNG terminals around the world. The approval is
expected to speed up talks for a supply deal.
“We hope this approval will lead to the supply for
global projects, helping the two companies create another success story,” said
Choo Se-don, head of POSCO Technical Research Laboratories.
The high manganese steel, which POSCO developed in
2013 for the first time in the global industry, maintains toughness and
strength even at temperatures below minus 162 degrees Celsius needed to keep
LNG in liquid.
The steel, which can be mass-produced, is
inexpensive, drawing attention from the global plant industry due to the recent
surge in raw material prices amid the supply chain disruption worldwide.
Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com