In an announcement Thursday, U. S. Steel said it is now the sole owner and producer of NanoSteel’s internationally recognized high-strength grades. 

“We are pleased to offer our customers yet another set of advanced high-strength steel grades that move beyond the boundaries of what was previously possible,” said U. S. Steel president and chief executive David B. Burritt said. 

“These products are in line with our Best of Both strategy and complement and expand our already strong offering of advanced high-strength steels like our proprietary 980 XG3 steel.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. NanoSteel’s intellectual property went up for sale in November. 

The company was founded in 2002 to develop steel products based on research completed at the U.S. Department of Energy. It had a portfolio of more than 100 patents worldwide supporting its sheet steel technology, according to a sale notice.  

U .S. Steel said NanoSteel grades are both incredibly strong and highly formable due to the nano-scale microstructure of the steel. As a result, the NanoSteel grades can be rolled thicker than other high-strength grades and are well suited for automotive and heavy industrial applications in which higher strength-to-weight ratios are essential.

“We are already in discussions with customers around the world, looking at new applications where this combination of high formability and high strength was not available on a commercial scale until now,” Burritt said.