This new plate is able to be used for roof sides, bumpers and battery containers for the electric vehicles (EVs), the steelmaker said.

Typically, 1.5 GPa martensitic steel plate cracks easily due hydrogen penetration and the plate not being flat enough. However, Hyundai Steel “used a heat technology that replaces rapid cooling normally used when manufacturing the plate, allowing it to be made flatter. It also minimized hydrogen penetration in the process to reduce cracking,” according to The Korea Herald.

“With this development, we can now enter the ultrahigh-strength cold-rolled steel plate market dominated by European or American steelmakers,“ an official said. ”By supplying the product to not only Hyundai Motor and Kia but to other global carmakers, we hope to take the lead in the EV-related material market.”

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