AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) announced that it received $1.8 million from the US Department of Energy as an award to be used in the next generation of electrical steel for manufacturing hybrid electric vehicles.
The U.S Department of Energy gave AK Steel the $1.8 million award as funding for the company to start working on new type of steel that will then be used to make hybrid electric vehicles as well as other non-electrical steel uses. The funding was offered under the Next Generation Electric Machines Program which is part of the Advanced Manufacturing Office.
The Department Of Energy to collaborate With AK Steel on the project
AK Steel will work together with the Department Of Energy and Regal Beloit Corporation, and Power Electronics and Electric Machinery Research Center which is part of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The project is expected to take three years and the main objective is to come up with innovative NOEs to support motor designs that can achieve as much as 30 percent more efficiency in comparison to the already existing NOEs in the market.
“We are honored to have been selected by the Energy Department for this initiative to push the boundaries of electrical steel technology,” stated AK Steel CEO Roger Newport.
Newport also pointed out that product and process innovation is a big part of his company. He also added that his firm was eager to work together with some of the greatest minds in the industry especially on a major project such as electric motor performance. The company came up with the technology for making electrical steel more than 100 years ago and it is currently one of the biggest global producers of the product.
The Department of Energy’s NGEM focuses on hybrid electric vehicles, pumps and industrial motors that represent the fastest developing market for NOEs. Most of the electric vehicles sold in the U.S. source their products from foreign suppliers. The aim is to steer towards local sourcing of the raw materials.
AK Steel stock closed the latest trading session on Wednesday at $5.47.