"In the future, steel will be the most important material that will improve the quality of human life," POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo said in a keynote speech on the theme of POST-COVID-19 Megatrends: A New Decade (Post Corona Mega Trend and Steel Industry: New Decade) at the WSD "Steel Success Strategies" online conference on Oct. 27.
Chairman Choi defined future steel industry megatrends as "new mobility," "urbanization," "digitalization," "De-carbonization," and "De-globalization."
The World Steel Dynamics (WSD) is a global steel analysis organization based in New Jersey, the U.S., and holds the Steel Success Strategies Conference every year, and conducts and announces competitive evaluations on major global steel companies.
In the speech in English for about 25 minutes, Choi predicted changes in the economy and social structure that will accelerate owing to the COVID-19 and the resulting mega-trend in the steel industry, and proposed joint response and sustainable growth measures.
In preparation for the new mobility era, Chairman Choi said, "The steel industry should actively cope with the paradigm shift in the auto industry by developing ultra-light, high-strength body and chassis materials based on the high economic feasibility and eco-friendly nature of steel."
As for digitalization, Chairman Choi said that the final goal of the steel industry in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution should be to realize the "Digital Twin Steel Plant" where optimal facilities and process control are carried out through real-time simulation based on the steel mill's facilities and process data.