The new steel offers an alternative to other light weight materials, which may cost more and require extensive and expensive retooling for production.
General Motors has invested an undisclosed amount in The NanoSteel Company because it claims the firm is a leader in light weight steel materials. Through the development of alloys with grain structures refined in the tiny 1 to 100 nanometer range, NanoSteel has created a new class of steel that – in theory – allows engineers to reduce weight with thinner, higher strength gauges while maintaining structural integrity for safety.
Fuel economy is directly a function of vehicle weight, and increasingly stringent global regulations means vehicles will need to go on a diet.
The new steel offers an alternative to other light weight materials, which may cost more, require new investment in parts production and have performance limitations. The privately held company is funded by lead shareholders EnerTech and Fairhaven Capital.
“Over the next several years, light-weighting of vehicles will be a major focus area to improve fuel economy. NanoSteel’s nano-structured alloys offer unique material characteristics that are not available today, making them a potential game-changer,” said Jon Lauckner, GM’s chief technology officer.
During its ten-year history, NanoSteel has created generations of iron-based alloys from surface coatings to monolithic sheet steel. For the oil, gas, mining, and power industries, NanoSteel has successfully introduced commercial applications of metallic coatings to prolong service lifetime.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
