Dec. 14, 2023 - POSCO DX, the digital transformation wing of South Korea's steel group POSCO has partnered with Chosun Refractories, a domestic refractory product maker, to create robots for steel production. The robots will be used for dangerous tasks such as handling high-temperature molten iron generated in a blast furnace.

POSCO DX said on December 13 that it partnered with Chosun Refractories to develop new robots. The robots will be deployed to steel mills to assist the casting process, which involves pouring molten iron into a mold through a nozzle. When a nozzle is blocked, robots can replace it with another nozzle through an automated system. The company will later expand the robots for other steelmaking processes.

While POSCO DX will be in charge of the design, simulation, and the development of automated system, Chosun Refractories will produce refractories and auxiliary equipment required for the casting process. Refractory materials have exceptionally high melting points and maintain structural properties even at extremely elevated temperatures.

 "The adoption of robots is gaining momentum to secure safety in industrial environments and adapt to demographic changes," POSCO DX's robot business promotion team director Yoon Suk-june said in a statement.

POSCO also plans to incorporate robots for manufacturing secondary battery materials. The conglomerate's carbon-based material manufacturer wing is producing single catalyst cathode, used for high-performance electric vehicles, at its plant located in the southern port city of Gwangyang and the southern industrial city of Pohang.