POSCO is teaming up with Hyundai Motor and other domestic finished car and parts makers and research institutes to develop high-efficiency electrical steel sheets for electric vehicle drive motors.
POSCO said on the 11th that it held a kickoff meeting for the research project titled "Development of 6.5% silicon wide electrical steel sheet and core/drive motor manufacturing technology to improve EV efficiency" at RIST and began joint research and development.
The project is part of the "Development of specialized steel sheet technology for core automobile parts" program supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and the Korea Planning&Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT). POSCO is the lead institution, and a total of 10 industry-academia-research organizations are participating, including Hyundai Motor, SL Corporation, Polfair Electric, RIST, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, the University of Ulsan, Pukyong National University, and the Korea Metal Materials Research Association.
The research goal is to secure manufacturing technology for 6.5% silicon wide electrical steel sheets and verify the efficiency improvement by applying them to EV drive motors. Electrical steel sheet is a key material used in EV motors, and the higher the silicon content, the more it can reduce power loss during high-speed rotation.
However, as silicon content increases, the material becomes brittle, making it difficult to produce and process into thin, wide sheets. POSCO plans to standardize mass-production processes for wide materials through this project and work with participating institutions to study the entire process from material development to core fabrication and drive motor manufacturing.
Following the kickoff meeting that day, the participating institutions signed a multilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU). POSCO plans to review research results through step-by-step demonstration studies and regular technology exchange meetings.
Cho Myeong-jong, head of POSCO's Future Steel Research Center, said, "This collaboration goes beyond simple cooperation between corporations and marks an important turning point for the steel and future mobility industries to open the era of electric energy," adding, "We will focus our capabilities on developing high value-added advanced materials and parts technologies that improve energy efficiency and maximize industry-academia-research synergy."