Analysis of the current scenario of steel in automotive, with special focus on new production processes

The thesis paper presented here has as its main theme an overview on the steel industry, how it influences the automotive sector, how is the current state of the market and the possible future technological developments. The thesis was developed in the following way: in the first chapter, the attention is focused on the role of the steel in the automotive sector. Steel components are the most used in the process of building a car, therefore the approach with which a company manages this resource is fundamental in each part of the strategic and the production processes. An analysis based on the information learned during my university path will show how the production of steel, the manufacturing processes involving the raw materials and the management of cost analysis related to raw materials and usage are managed in a car company. in the second chapter, an analysis of the current market scenario is performed. The steel industry in going through an important crisis due to the trade war between the two superpowers of the world: China and USA that lead to a series of consequences. this war also involved the rest of the world and a special focus is performed for UK, Germany and Italy. Finally, it has also been reported how the covid-19 pandemic is affecting the steel industry. in the third chapter the future technologies are analysed. The automotive sector requires a new type of steel to produce electric vehicles: the advanced high strength steel. This kind of steel may be produced using the near net shape strip casting techniques. As the name suggests, the peculiarity of this technology is that the initial production of the element is very close to the final shape, reducing a lot of successive processes. The two more advanced technique of NNSSC are Twin roll casting and horizontal single belt casting. The first one consists in two rollers that “squeeze” the molten steel to make it a sheet and the second consists of printing liquid steel directly on a single horizontal mobile belt. Based on the topics covered in the thesis we can understand that the steel sector is in crisis. This is really an issue because steel, as one of the most consumed material, anticipates the market tendencies of all the other goods. The trade conflicts between China and USA, probably will not have an end until the American presidential election in November 2020 and European’s nationalist governments struggle to collaborate with each other to find new solutions. The political crisis can only be overcome by scientific innovation. So, innovation is no more an option but is a necessity for the whole system. The new technologies analysed in the thesis underline that The steel industry of the future must be based on sustainability and innovation, achievable by integrating quality rigor, attention to organization and economic logic with wisdom, courage and creativity of the human being.