Free Republic

Enhanced 3D printing techniques now allow for the production of 17-4 PH stainless steel, optimizing its strength and corrosion resistance. This achievement marks a significant step forward in the additive manufacturing of complex alloys. Credit: SciTechDaily.com =============================================================================== Using advanced X-ray techniques, scientists have achieved a significant milestone in 3D printing by producing 17-4 PH stainless steel with superior strength and durability. This development promises to lower costs and increase production flexibility, offering profound implications for manufacturing complex materials. Breakthrough in 3D Printing of Stainless Steel Researchers have developed a reliable method to produce a specific type of stainless steel, 17-4...

As the Line gigaproject continues to grow in the Saudi desert, some new construction details have been announced that highlight the mind-boggling challenge of turning a huge tract of rugged landscape into a futuristic megacity, including its reported use of one fifth of the entire world's currently available steel.To recap, the Line is the key part of Saudi Arabia's Neom project, which is itself part of a larger push to transform the country's predominantly oil-based economy into a tourism-focused one as fossil fuel use is inevitably reduced in the coming years.The plan is for the Line to eventually have a...

A low-temperature electrochemical method for producing iron could reshape the steel industry. A blazing snapshot of traditional ironmaking, one of the world’s most polluting industries. sdlgzps/iStock ************************************************************************* Steel is the backbone of modern civilization—used in everything from buildings and bridges to cars and appliances. On the other hand, steelmaking is one of the world’s largest sources of carbon emissions, primarily due to the traditional process of extracting iron from ore using coal-fired blast furnaces. As the global demand for steel continues to grow, finding cleaner, more sustainable methods of production is critical—not just for climate goals, but for the future...

British Steel, the U.K.’s last bastion of primary steelmaking, announced plans to shutter its two blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, effectively ending 150 years of virgin steel production in Britain. Media outlets have rushed to pin the blame on U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent 25% tariffs on steel imports. But this narrative is a convenient distraction from a far more insidious culprit: the U.K. government’s relentless pursuit of self-destructive green policies that have crippled British manufacturing for nearly a decade. During the Industrial Revolution, Britain’s steel industry forged the island’s ascent as a global superpower. Steel was the sinew of progress,...

China is no longer welcome in Britain's steel sector after the government had to pass emergency legislation on Saturday to ensure control of Chinese-owned British Steel, business minister Jonathan Reynolds said on Sunday.Reynolds said the refusal of China's Jingye Group to accept a roughly 500 million pound ($654 million) government aid package last week to stop irrevocable damage to blast furnaces left the government with no alternative to intervening directly.British Steel was not immediately available for comment outside office hours.Against a backdrop of global overcapacity in much of the steel industry and challenges from U.S. tariffs, Jingye wanted to import...

London says it acted to prevent the plant’s Chinese owners from closing the plant, threatening jobs and national security.The British government moved swiftly on Saturday to take control of operations at the country’s last large crude steel producing facility, in what appeared to be a major step toward nationalizing the plant. In an unusual and dramatic move, the government had summoned lawmakers back from vacation on Saturday to approve the government’s emergency legislation. The government said it was acting to prevent the owners of the British Steel complex in Scunthorpe, a Chinese company called Jingye, from taking steps unilaterally to...

Parliament has been recalled for a rare Saturday sitting to pass an emergency law aimed at saving British Steel's Scunthorpe plant from imminent closure. Sir Keir Starmer said the legislation would allow ministers to "take control" of the Lincolnshire site and stop its Chinese owner from closing its blast furnaces. The move opens the door to a full nationalisation of the company at a later stage, with the prime minister saying "all options" remained on the table. Talks have been taking place this week to keep production going at the firm, after owners Jingye said its blast furnaces were "no...

PM Keir Starmer will aim to pass an emergency law on Saturday to "take control" of British Steel's plant in Scunthorpe, which is running out of raw materials to make steel The potential closure of Scunthorpe's British Steel plant would be devastating for workers and their families, the GMB union says If passed, the new law will give power to Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to direct and control British Steel - and could allow nationalisation later down the line The PM and Reynolds expressed disappointment in British Steel's Chinese owner Jingye, which says it has been losing around £700,000 a...

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are actively considering nationalising British Steel in an escalation of plans first revealed in the Guardian last year. The prime minister said all options were on the table to secure the future of the Scunthorpe plant, which is owned by the Chinese firm Jingye and employs about 3,500 people. The possibility of nationalisation was first revealed in December but discussions have taken on fresh urgency with US tariffs and talks about a financial support package to move to less polluting technology having faltered. The government has now been forced to consider more drastic options, ranging...

President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel to undergo a new review after the deal was blocked by President Joe Biden. Trump directed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review the acquisition again to assist "in determining whether further action in this matter may be appropriate," according to a presidential action issued by the White House on Monday. U.S. Steel shares spiked 11% in reaction to the decision. Trump gave the committee 45 days to submit a recommendation on whether measures suggested by U.S. Steel and Nippon...

President Trump on Monday directed a powerful US national security panel to take a fresh look at Nippon Steel’s bid for US Steel to help determine if “further action” is appropriate, raising hopes for an elusive greenlight for the deal. “I direct the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States…to conduct a review of the acquisition of U.S. Steel by (Nippon Steel) to assist me in determining whether further action in this matter may be appropriate,” the memo reads. US Steel did not respond to requests for comment. Nippon Steel said it was “pleased” by the news. “We have...

China-owned British Steel said it could close its two blast furnaces as soon as June with the potential loss of up to 2,700 jobs, as U.S. tariffs and environmental costs threaten to damage its already struggling operations. British Steel, owned by China's Jingye Group, has warned for years that steelmaking in Scunthorpe, north east England, is loss-making, and has been in talks with the government for months about securing funding to switch to a greener type of steel production. But the two sides have failed to reach a deal, and British Steel said on Thursday it was making the "difficult...

U.S. Steel shares are jumping in premarket trading Friday on a report that Nippon Steel is offering to spend as much as $7 billion to upgrade the American company’s aging Rust Belt facilities in a bid to obtain the Trump administration's approval of their $14 billion merger. The Biden administration had blocked the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel on national security grounds in January. Semafor reported that Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel are in talks with the Trump administration for the Japanese company to raise its $2.7 billion planned investment in the US firm's facilities. U.S. Steel...

DONALDSONVILLE — Hyundai is planning a nearly $6 billion investment in Louisiana, Gov. Jeff Landry, President Donald Trump and other officials announced at the White House on Monday. The South Korean car manufacturer will be opening its first North American steel facility in Donaldsonville, the governor said during the afternoon announcement. According to Louisiana Economic Development, the $5.8 billion facility will be located on 1,700 acres of sugarcane fields in the RiverPlex MegaPark industrial center. The facility is expected to create 1,300 direct jobs and 4,100 indirect jobs in the capital region. “Hyundai’s decision to invest nearly $6 billion in...

The Trump administration filed a motion to extend two deadlines in U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel’s lawsuit against a U.S. national security panel to give the government more time to wrap up merger talks with the firms, a filing showed on Monday. The filing is the clearest indication that President Donald Trump may allow the deal, scuttled by his predecessor, to proceed in some form. In January, the two companies filed a lawsuit against the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which scrutinizes foreign investments for national security risks, after it recommended that a merger between them be...

The European Union has reacted swiftly to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that came into effect Wednesday, retaliating with its own punitive countermeasures that it said were needed to protect consumers and businesses. The White House confirmed the duties — which will affect Canada, Australia, the EU and others — late Tuesday, but said that Trump no longer planned to raise tariffs on metals from Canada to 50%. The EU responded swiftly, saying it would impose counter-tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28.33 billion) worth of U.S. goods starting in April. European Commission President Ursula...

President Donald Trump openly challenged U.S. allies Wednesday by increasing tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25% as he vowed to take back wealth “stolen” by other countries, drawing quick retaliation from Europe and Canada. “The United States of America is going to take back a lot of what was stolen from it by other countries and, frankly, by incompetent U.S. leadership,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “We’re going to take back our wealth, and we’re going to take back a lot of the companies that left.” Trump removed all exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on the metals,...

The European Union (EU) retaliated swiftly with a two-step approach in response to President Trump’s fresh 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum that took effect Wednesday. First, the European trading bloc — made up of 27 nations — will allow the suspension of the existing 2018 and 2020 countermeasures against the U.S. to expire on April 1. Second, the commission is proposing a new package of countermeasures on goods coming from the U.S. that will go into effect in mid-April, covering some $28 billion in imports in total. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said Europe...

Australia will not be granted an exemption from US tariffs on aluminium and steel imports, the White House says. US President Donald Trump had previously said he would consider excluding Australia from the 25 per cent tariffs, which take effect on Wednesday. But White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt has now told the ABC: "He considered it, and considered against it. There will be no exemptions." Asked why, Ms Leavitt said: "America First steel." "If they want to be exempted, they should consider moving steel manufacturing here," she said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the decision as "entirely unjustified"....

President Donald Trump is ratcheting up pressure on Canada, announcing late Monday that he will double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50 percent, citing Ontario’s move to levy a tax on U.S. electricity exports.“This will go into effect TOMORROW MORNING, March 12th,” Trump declared in a Truth Social post, emphasizing the urgency of the measure. The hike comes just hours before an already-planned 25 percent tariff was set to take effect at midnight, marking yet another sharp shift in U.S.-Canada trade relations under Trump’s second term.The president’s move underscores his determination to confront what he sees as Canada’s...