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U.S. Steel: Stronger and Lighter

United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) is dedicated to the automotive industry and is continuously researching and developing new grades and processes. Each automobile component is designed to unique conditions and criteria such as durability, crash energy management, appearance, formability and cost. “U.S. Steel is producing the next generation in high-strength steels across the automotive market,” said Bernhard Hoffman, Vice President of Global Product Development and Engineering at U.S. Steel. “A lot about EVs is how to make it cost-effective. The first Teslas were all aluminum. Now, the Model 3 has a lot of steel in it. It has to be cost-effective. Steel is still the predominant structural material.” According to Hoffman, steel has the best combination of engineering capability versus material cost. Steel is formable, weldable, strong and has state-of-the-art coatings that will help resist corrosion. In addition, it is cost-effective and has good surface appearance. U.S. Steel offers innovative products in hot-rolled, cold-rolled and hot-dip galvanized categories. Hot-rolled products are solutions for heavy thickness applications such as frames and suspension parts. Cold-rolled products can be electrolytically coated with zinc or zinc-iron alloy coatings for added corrosion resistance, which is especially useful when combined with the superior formability and strength offered by U.S. Steel’s advanced and ultra-high-strength steels. Galvanized and galvannealed products come in numerous coating weights to meet the corrosion resistance required in various applications. The U.S. Steel Automotive Center gives it the ability to perform tests using state-of-the-art equipment, enabling automotive engineers to evaluate any potential application, whether it be questions on weight reduction, cost savings, formability, crash energy management or material availability. Read more RoadTrip 2.0 coverage here.