현대제철 통합보고서

To reinvent ourselves as a steelworks specializing in automotive steel sheets, Hyundai Steel is continuously expanding the global supply for finished vehicles. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting normal operations, in 2020 we were able to obtain certifications for 31 steel grades from leading global automakers such as GM, Ford and PSA Group. In particular, Ford carried out the industry's first online mill audit.

Through this audit, we obtained certification for 203 steel grades from 21 global manufacturers of finished vehicles. In addition, in 2020, we developed 48 grades of steel for global finished vehicles, which completed our development of a total of 266 grades of steel for global vehicles. With that, we achieved a product coverage of 70% in the global market. In 2021, we expect to take a leading position not only with our existing general-use steel grades, but also through the development of high-grade steels for electric vehicles. Furthermore, we plan to dispatch technical specialists to Mexico to open a new market in the Americas and reinforce our technical support.

Amid tightening environmental regulations worldwide, such as regulations on CO₂ fuel economy, the electric vehicle market is growing at a rapid pace. There is a growing use of aluminum materials to reduce vehicle weight and increase range as part of developing long-range electric vehicles that can cover distances of over 300 km. Hyundai Steel has worked with its customers to research steel battery cases in order to boost the competitiveness its steel materials and create demand in the eco-friendly vehicle market. In particular, we have established the direction of our development by analyzing domestic and overseas regulations and vehicle specs related to assessments of electric vehicle battery cases.

In developing our battery case, we put the highest value on safety, and through structural and collision analysis, identified a lightweight solution with a weight equivalent to that of an aluminum battery case. If our steel battery case is applied to electric cars, it will be possible in 2025 to create 100,000 tons of steel demand, which would be approximately 1 million vehicles. Going forward, we will continue working with our customers to develop new technologies for the eco-friendly automobile market.

In response to marine environment regulations and the changing energy market, Hyundai Steel is developing and mass-producing 9% nickel steel. 9% nickel steel is used mainly as a material in LNG storage tanks, as these tanks must be impact resistant and stable at –196 °C. In 2020, Hyundai Steel established the common goal of 'Building an Initial Mass Production System for 9% Nickel Steel', and built an organic collaboration system across the company. In particular, having completed ship certification in just ten months, a process that normally takes close to two years, and in parallel with our shipbuilder evaluation, we laid a foundation for linking development and sales at the same time. As a highly profitable material at KRW 3.5 million/ton, we expect 9% nickel steel to contribute greatly to strengthening Hyundai Steel's future growth engines. In 2021, we are working to optimize the conditions for mass production in response to initial orders for LNG-powered vessels, and to expand the application of 9% nickel steel to LNG storage tanks on land. Based on our experience in developing 9% nickel steel, we plan to diversify our ultra low temperature steel portfolio by adding 5% nickel steel as a substitute material and steel for liquid nitrogen storage, and will strive to become a company specializing in eco-friendly materials.

On July 17, 2020, Hyundai Steel entered a licensing agreement with ArcelorMittal, which holds patented technology for hot stamping process and products. This agreement has enabled us to expand the production and sales of hot stamping products, using ArcelorMittal's proprietary method, in Korea, China and ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries without patent infringement. Currently, we have 22 hot stamping lines at the Yesan Works and two at the Ulsan Works. We have therefore established the largest hot-stamping facilities in Korea and produce Automotive Parts using this method. Furthermore, in 2020, we plan to build two new hot stamping facilities at Hyundai Steel Czech and will continue to expand facilities in the future. With the new patent licensing agreement, we plan to expand our automotive hot stamping business overseas. We expect to achieve win-win growth with our customers through sales of related products, growth in our parts business, and through the expansion in high value-added Automotive Parts.

Hyundai Steel has successfully completed ISIRs⁴⁾ for 63 strategic steel grades used in Automotive Parts such as engines, transmission and chassis, and has systems in place for their mass production and supply. Since completing the ISIRs, Hyundai Steel has decided on a strategic direction for Special Steel product development of three types of materials: premium-grade high-performance materials, high-strength materials and optimized materials. We are currently accelerating product development and some materials are now in production. In March, we began joint development of high-durability steel grades for transmissions, jointly developed with Hyundai Motor Group, as a means of reducing the weight and raising the performance of vehicles. In particular, we are developing materials that can improve fretting and rolling contact fatigue by 30% for transmission bearings and gear parts, for which six new grades of steel are in development. We expect that these will able to go into production from next year. Since completing the Special Steel plant, we have gone through much trial and error, but thanks to swift feedback and improvements to our production systems, we have achieved stable product quality. We look forward to stabilizing our existing products further and presenting new Special Steel products to the market that can lead the industry.

nder the Hyundai Motor Group vision for fuel cell electric vehicles(FCEV), Hyundai Steel has signed an MOU with Hyundai Motor, Korea Gas Corporation, Hydrogen Energy Network, Hyundai Glovis, SPG and others on 'Developing the Hydrogen Logistics Industry for Hydrogen Vehicles'. We have also presented a business plan for expanding high-purity hydrogen supplies and infrastructure. Hyundai Steel plans to expand hydrogen production/distribution facilities, expand the use of FCEVs at our worksites and in our transport fleet, while building hydrogen-based eco-friendly fuel cell generation systems. Furthermore, we aim to contribute to the building and operation of independent hydrogen production facilities and related fuel cell generation systems in order to boost the use of eco-friendly power generation sources and enhance power self-sufficiency. As Hyundai Steel engages actively in resource circulation and recycling, we are committed to taking an active part in hydrogen production and the eco-friendly energy sector to become one of the world's most eco-friendly steelworks.

Hyundai Steel has signed a 'Strategic MOU on Plant Technology Cooperation' with Korea Gas Technology Corporation to revitalize the plant industry and reinforce our expertise. The main objective of the MOU is to pursue joint technological measures to strengthen our competitiveness in winning plant orders domestically and overseas over the next three years. We expect this to lead to increased sales of steel in the LNG plant sector, such as our newly developed 9% Nickel Steel Plates, Ultra Low Temperature Rebar, etc. Based on this MOU, we aim to boost our price competitiveness in steel for plants and expand the use of our newly developed high-performance steel grades.

Hyundai Steel has adopted key technologies of the 4^th Industrial Revolution, such as artificial intelligence, Big Data and the Internet of Things, within our production processes to increase productivity and enhance product quality. As part of the 'Smart Enterprise' project, which was launched in 2017, we have introduced a 'raw material operation optimization system', based on Big Data, not only at the Integrated Steelworks blast furnaces, but as of April 2020, also at the 120-ton electric arc furnace at the Incheon Works. At the core of the newly introduced system for the electric arc furnace is the 'electronic map of raw material storage'. The electronic map provides an exact representation of the raw material storage facilities, enabling the user to determine the weight, grade and location of steel scrap. Because data on all scrap is accumulated automatically, we plan to use this as basic data to optimize product quality and improve our operations. Furthermore, we adopted the system at the 120-ton electric arc furnace in the second half of 2020 and reviewing the possible implementation of the system at all our electric arc furnaces. In the near term, we expect to be able to reduce unnecessary steel scrap inputs and ultimately improve our efficiency by forecasting product quality through the 'electric arc furnace raw material operation optimization system'. As part of our continued growth, we plan to complete the 'Smart Enterprise' project by 2025, which will contribute to the operation of customer-centered processes and the building of an optimized decision-making system.