POSCO braves industry downturn with high manganese steel

By Park Jae-hyuk

POSCO's independently developed high manganese steel (HMS) has emerged as the steelmaker's own solution to the prolonged industry-wide slowdown, as the material gains attention for its use in shipping and storing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other alternative fuels.

HMS is a steel alloy with a manganese content of 10 to 30 percent, developed and commercialized by POSCO in 2013 for the first time in the world. It is a wear-resistant and non-magnetic material that remains tough even at extremely low temperatures, making it a suitable material for building LNG tanks.

Compared to nickel alloy steel that has also been used to build LNG tanks, HMS is more cost-effective, because the global supply of manganese is more stable than the supply of nickel, which is mined largely in restricted areas.

POSCO said that its HMS was used to build the fifth and sixth tanks at Gwangyang LNG Terminal in South Jeolla Province. The facility is managed by POSCO International, the trading and energy arm of POSCO Group.

The steelmaker's HMS has also been used to build the terminal's seventh and eighth tanks, which are currently under construction.

Additionally, a Korean shipbuilder used POSCO's HMS to manufacture 36 fuel tanks for LNG.

In order to use HMS to transport and store LNG, it is necessary to get international certifications of the material's safety and functionality.

After the American Society for Testing and Materials registered the standard of POSCO's HMS in 2017 and the American Petroleum Institute followed in 2023, the International Maritime Organization registered the standard of the Korean firm's HMS used for LNG and ammonia tanks in ships last May.

Their registrations paved the way for POSCO to export its HMS to the global market.

The company has been trying to use HMS for slurry pipelines, automotive steel sheets and materials for naval vessels and armored fighting vehicles.

A slurry pipeline is a specially engineered pipeline used to move ores, including oil sands.

According to POSCO, HMS can protect the pipelines from abrasion, increasing their lifespans.

For naval ships and combat vehicles, the material's non-magnetic property can enhance their stealth functions.

"Bracing for the low-carbon era, we plan to make our HMS be used to build tanks that transport and store more variety of alternative fuels, including liquefied ammonia and liquefied hydrogen, in addition to LNG," a POSCO official said.

The official added that behind its earlier commercialization of HMS was POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa's efforts to enhance the steelmaker's technologies, so that the company has a competitive edge over its rivals.

Chang previously led POSCO's development of new materials, its marketing strategies and the establishment of sales networks abroad in 2018, when he was serving as the steelmaker's CEO.

The appointment of new POSCO CEO Lee Hee-geun after the group's year-end executive reshuffle in December was also part of its efforts for technology-oriented management, according to the steelmaker, given that he formerly led the company's facility reinforcement task force.