All language subtitles for Tomorrows.World.Today.S06E02.Sustainable.Steel.1080p.WEB.h264-CBFM_track3_[eng]

[narrator] On
Tomorrow's World Today,

we explore
the cutting-edge advances

that are shaping
four different worlds.

The world of inspiration,

where the wonders
of the natural world

amaze and inspire us.

The world of creation,

where ideas come to life
from traditional arts.

The world of innovation,

where ideas and inventions
move us all forward.

The world of production,

where innovations
are mass produced

to improve our lives.

From Inventionland
World headquarters,

here's your host,
George Davison.

Hi, everybody.
I'm George Davison.

When you think of steel,

you might imagine thick,
heavy sheets of metal.

But when it comes
to electric vehicles,

you have to go light.

Every extra pound
means less range,

and lower efficiency.

So what's the solution?

Thinner steel. That's right.

There's now steel that is,
it's like paper thin.

And it's been
engineered specifically
for electric vehicles.

By using the thinner steel,

automakers can reduce
the vehicle's weight

without having to sacrifice
strength or durability.

This paper-thin steel,

it's made
with the latest technology.

And it's designed to meet
the production needs

of this new era
of transportation.

In fact, by 2030,

more than half
of all cars sold
are expected to be EVs.

So I'm gonna send Greg
to the world of production

to explore how one company

is changing the steel
production process

to make it more sustainable
and environmentally friendly.

[Greg] In 1881,

Andrew Carnegie
built the first steel mill
in the United States,

which would eventually become
US Steel in 1901.

And for many years,

it was the largest mill
in the world,

and the most productive
of all the steel works
in the Mon Valley.

This is still a US Steel site,

but now,
it is the US Steel Research
and Technology Center.

We're gonna head inside,

talk to David Burritt,
the CEO of US Steel,

to take an in depth look
at steel production

in tomorrow's world.

-Hey, Dave, great to meet you.
-Great to meet you too, Greg.

[Greg] As we look
at this library, Dave,

I feel like this--
this is the history

of steel making
in the United States.

But this research
and technology center
is all about the future.

I cannot wait to see
what you do here.

Safety first at US Steel,

and that means hard hat
and rest of the PPE.

-So let's go, follow me.
-All right.

[Greg] Dave, tell me
about the process
we're about to see.

[Dave] Well, this is
an A6 continuous galvanizing
simulator.

One of a kind,

and it's used to help power
the energy transition
of the future.

Greg, I need you
to meet Alexis and Matt.

Nice to meet you guys.

Alexis, tell me
about this amazing machine
behind us.

So there are a couple
A6 simulators in the world,

but our specific simulator
was customized for US Steel

to help innovate
for all of our customers.

Excellent. Well, Matt,
why is that important?

So one of the most
important types of steel
that we develop

are the advanced sized
string steels

for the automotive industry.

The A6 allows us to simulate

the heat treatment
and coating conditions

of any of our finishing lines,

including the ones
currently being built
in Arkansas.

Greg, we need
to get you to Arkansas

at Big River Steel.

Ask for Dan Brown,

he's got a full blown tour
for you.

Excellent.

[Greg] Well,
I made it to Arkansas,

and I'm on the banks
of the Mississippi River.

It safe to say
that our country might not
be what it is today

without the mighty Mississip.

There have been
so many industries

that have utilized this river,

it'd be difficult to count.

One of the main reasons being
that there's no better way

to move large amounts of steel
than a barge on the river.

Now, the river's got
a deep history,

but it's also got
a really bright future.

Especially when it comes
to electric vehicles.

There are hundreds
of pounds of steel

in an electric vehicle.

Now in order
to meet that demand
in a sustainable way,

auto manufacturers are turning
to recycled steel.

And this plant,

and all of the new facilities
built around it,

are specifically
for that purpose.

Turn all of this
into recycled steel.

I'm at the US Steel
Big River Steel facility

in Osceola, Arkansas.

I'm gonna be with Dan Brown.

He is
the Senior Vice President

of Advanced Technology
Steelmaking

for US Steel,

and the Chief Operating
Officer of Big River Steel.

We're gonna talk
about all of the new
and innovative technologies

that are being utilized
to get recycled steel

into the electric vehicles
that you'll drive

in tomorrow's world.

-Hey, Dan.
-Hi, Greg.

-Good to see you.
-Good to see you too.

Wow, man, I was just out
at the scrapyard,

millions of tons of metal
and it's all gonna end up
here.

[Dan] Absolutely,
100% recycled scrap.

That scrap gets scorched
in the EAF

to feed this beast.

Well, I wanna see this
all happen.

Absolutely,
grab your safety gear
and let's go.

[Greg] Okay, let's go.

Wow, Dan,
so this is feeding the beast.

This is feeding the beast.

So all the scrap we saw

dumped outside
into the charge bucket,

we charge that
a little over 180 tons,

put it in the top
of the EAF furnace,

and make a heat.

Our tap-to-tap times
are generally 36 minutes.

Wow, so it only takes
that long to melt
this whole thing--

And I--
I find it hard to believe

that this is
electrical energy.

But that stands
for electrical arc furnace.

[Dan] Electrical arc furnace.

We use 100% recycled scrap
to arc on these heats.

Electricity, true DC energy
to meld these heats

to tap into a steel ladle
at the bottom of the furnace,

and ship
for further processing.

Either to secondary metallurgy
or our RH degasser.

[Greg] Okay,
so this vat of molten metal

goes to the RH gasser,
you said?

Tell me about that.

[Dan] The RH degasser
is an interesting story.

Big River Steel
is the first company

to put an RH degasser
into a mini mill.

Gives us the ability to make
automotive steels,

hydrate, uh,
electrical steels,

and non-grain oriented steels
for electrical vehicles.

[Greg] Well,
I'd love to get a look
at that.

Let's go.

[Greg] So Dan, what makes
the degassing process

so important
to what you do here?

[Dan] As I mentioned before,

we we're the first
steel company

to put an RH degasser

within the mini mill
steel industry segment.

This vacuum degasser
gives us the ability

to serve customers a mortgage

that no one
could ever serve before.

The automotive market,
non-grain oriented steel,

and a high-tech
electrical steels.

Okay, well,
how does the process
actually work?

Very interesting process.

Behind you
is a degasser vessel.

At the bottom of that
is what we refer to
as snorkels.

An up-leg and down-leg.

There's a series of weirs
for Argon gas in the up-leg.

They actually change
the density of steel.

Lift a leg with steel up,

back to the down-leg,
gravity breaks it down.

And it's a re-circulating
process.

You actually re-circulate
the chemistry

and homogenize that steel
every two minutes.

Wow, so what--
What actually happens?

It actually just extracts
the gas from it?

[Dan] Interesting process.

You get lower carbon levels,

lower hydrogen levels
and lower nitrogen levels

out of this process.

[Greg] All right, well,
I know we've still got
some steps to go,

but it feels like
we're getting really close

to seeing slabs of metal.

Next stop,
we'll be taking that liquid
molten steel on a ladle,

and forming into a solid
transfer bar.

Let's go.

[Greg] Oh, Dan,
looks like we're counting down
to something here.

So now we're taking
that liquid steel ladle

and we're passing that
through our gassing machine

into a solid transfer bar.

This machine's speed right now
is running roughly at
170 inches per minute

and at approximately
20 inches.

we'll be counting that to
our customers specification

down at our crops here.

[Greg] Okay,
let's take a look
at this now.

So this is actually
the molten metal

-coming out of the ladle.
-[Dan] That's correct.

That's the ol' ladle,
that's molten liquid.

it's being poured out
of the bottom

into a mold.

That mold is cooled
with backwater sprays.

It actually makes the shell
around that transfer bar

cools it from the outside in
into a solid state

that you have
coming down here.

[Greg] But now
if this cools down,

it's actually cool enough now

to maintain its integrity
through the roller.

That's correct,
it's formed you a good shape.

The thickest of the bar's
a little over
two-and-a-half inches.

It'll get cropped
to customer's specification,

or it could lay flat.

It's set on
through this tunnel furnace

to a hot rolling mill.

Three football fields later,

and this is gonna look
like what your customers
want it to look like.

[Dan] That's correct.
It'll go through a 1000 feet,

down to a hot rolling mill,
and get rolled into a boil.

-All right, let's go see
what the end looks like.
-Let's go.

[Dan]
You remember that transfer bar

that was two-and-a-half
inches thick

that we sent through
the furnace that's 1000 feet
long

to continue eating?

Right, so it's gotten here,

but two-and-a-half
inches thick

is not what your customer's
usually looking for.

How do you reduce that down
to their specifications?

Now it enters
the hot rolling process.

So that transfer bar
goes through

a series of stands,
rolled out,

and then sent out
a run-out table

and hit with large amounts
of water.

We get
the mechanical properties
out of it.

Customer width,
specification-correct gauge,

and that coil
at the end of the line

will either be sold out
into the commercial market,

or sent downstream
to cold room processing.

So at the point,
it's ready to ship?

-[Dan] That's correct.
-Let's check that out.

[Greg] So this is
the beginning of the--

of the rolling
and reducing process.

Are these rollers
the same rollers
that are in the machines?

[Dan] That's correct.

The rolls you see right here
are the actual work rolls

that are in the stands
right now.

There's six stands.

Each stand
reduces that transfer bar
better and better

till you get out
of the last stand.

Once you exit after six,

you're at the exact thickness
for customer specification.

The center
for the run out table,

hit it with water
for mechanical properties,

and you've a final product
on the coil for the customer.

[Greg] These won't work out
to be really precise.

You're looking
for a near perfect piece
of metal.

The parameters
on the work rolls
and the graining,

very, very straight.

They'll make sure you get
the customer specification.

Okay.

After the steel exits
our last stand,

it gets X-rayed

for the proper
customer thickness.

Goes through
our run out table,

gets blasted
with high pressure water

for mechanical properties.

[Greg]
So by mechanical properties,

you mean either the hardness
or softness of the metal.

And you determine that
by how quickly you cool.

Whatever the customer
application is,

we make that
on that run out table
into the boiler.

[Greg] Okay.

So Dan, I mean,

you can still really feel
the heat coming off
of these coils.

This can't be the end
of the line.

[Dan] You remember that coil
just two hours ago

was part of a liquid
steel ladle.

Take it through gassing,
take it through rolling,

very critical,
precise processes.

This boiling temperature
is very important too

for final properties.

We'll get that coiled up,

either sent out
for customer shipping,

of further downstream
with another process.

Let's head downstream.

[Dan] So some
of the hot roll coils

are gonna go directly
to customers.

Others go downstream
at our facility

through our pickle line
tandem mill,

we refer to it as our PLTCM.

The pickling part
of the process,

you take the hot rolled coils,
you weld them together

to make
a continuous operation.

After that, it's sent directly
to the cold mill behind us

for cold reduction.

-[Greg] Okay, well,
let's take a look at that.
-[Dan] Let's go.

So after our coils
are run through

the pickling part
of this line,

this is one continuous line,

hanging directly
from the pickle line,

through the cold reduction,
cold rolling process.

Similar to the hot rolling
process.

Five stands.

Take a little bit
more reduction
with each stand.

We get down to the final
thickness and gauge

for the customer
specification.

These coils are taken off
the mandrel.

Some of these coils
are shipped off
as final product.

Other coils are sent
to our galvanized line
next door.

Let me take you there.

[Greg] This steel
isn't specifically for EVs.

But it is used
in the automotive industry

and for some
of your other customers
as well.

That's correct,
we just got done cold reducing
our coil.

So now we put 'em
through a furnace
for mechanical properties,

run 'em through a zinc bath,

put a slight layer
of zinc coating
on the material.

And we use that to supply
automotive and construction
customers.

All right, well, I wanna see
this galvanizing process.

I guess it's a hot process,
we're all suited up.

-So let's go.
-Follow me.

[Dan] So these two coils
are shared here,

at the tail end
of the previous coil.

The front end of the next coil
shared,

welded together
within a minute

and sent down to the process.

We have to run this line
continuously.

It has to run 24/7.

To our right
are the zinc ingots

that we add to our zinc pot

to get the right chemistry
for the molten zinc.

Then we put
on the steel coils,

to get to the right
customer specification.

Wow, Dan,
that looks like a mirror.

But I would imagine that the--

if you shatter that thing
you'd catch a few more
than seven years of bad luck.

[Dan]
So the steel's taken
through a furnace

heated up to the proper
temperature.

Annealed to get the right
mechanical properties
for our customers.

And now we bring it down
to a molten zinc bath

-that's at-- currently at
426 degree Celsius.
-[Greg] Wow.

[Greg] That's well over
800 degrees Fahrenheit.

[Dan] Well over
800 degrees Fahrenheit,

and then taken up
through a series
of air dryers

to the top of this roof
of this production line.

[Greg]
How far does it travel up
as it dries?

[Dan] One hundred
and eighty four feet.

So at the point,
it's dry enough

to be coiled back up,
put on the rails
and sent back out.

Absolutely.

You'll be taken out
to the rail car,

put in the rail car
and shipped to a customer.

Let's go see it.

[Greg] Wow, Dan,
this coil looks very different
than the way it started out.

Yes, this coil
is the final product.

This has been galvanized,
coated,

packaged up, banded,

and now this is ready
for shipment,

ID it for our final customer.

[Greg] Dan, we--
we've learned a lot

about the different metals
that you make
for various markets.

But right now,
I really wanna know more

about bigger of a steal,

US Steel
and electric vehicles.

So you've seen
the whole process so far.

Hundred percent
recycled scrap,

melded, casted, rolled,
up to the point.

And this behind us
is a world class,
$450 million investment

and non-grain oriented
electrical steels.

Non-grain oriented
electrical steel

for the electrical vehicle
market

in the future
of the United States.

-Excellent, can we go inside?
-Let's go.

[Greg] All right.
Now I get it.

This is what $450 million
looks like.

[Dan] Behind us
is our non-grain oriented
anneal coating line.

This line is part
of the non-grain oriented
steel electrical project.

This line creates
the mechanical properties

and magnetic properties
for our electrical steels.

This looks a-- a lot
like some of the processes
that we've already seen.

How much of this is evolution,

and how much of it
is brand new?

It's a combination
of technologies.

Almost like a giant
continuous annealing line.

And on top of it,
making magnetic properties

for world class
non-grain oriented
electrical steel

for the electrical vehicle
market.

Okay, well,
how big is this building?
It's massive.

This building is massive.

This building three-tenths
to a mile long.

-Wow, you wanna take a walk?
-Let's go.

[Greg] Now, Dan,
the-- the steel industry
has been around

for well over a 100 years.

[chuckles] That's pretty clear
they're not resting
on those laurels.

It looks as though US Steel
is all about innovation.

A lot of people view steel
as just a commodity.

It's not great.

Steel is highly technical
and highly innovative.

We spent a lot of time
on research, development,

and innovation
within our company.

This line in back of us
and the whole NGO project

is the perfect example
of that.

As massive as it all is,

I know that this is just
the tip of the iceberg

-of what
you're developing here.
-That's correct.

And I'd like to show you
our second part

of our close
to $4 billion in investments.

[Greg] Well, Dan,
you got me intrigued.

You mentioned new products
coming out of this area,

and you've got another
massive structure here.

What are you building

and what are you
gonna do with it?

So you remember our continuous
galvanized line number one
that we went through.

This is CGL two.

We're going past
the furnished structure
right now.

This line uses a zinc
and aluminum coating

as opposed
to just a zinc coating.

Guaranteed for 60 years,
weather corrosion resistant,

very popular with the roofing,

and the appliance industry
in the market.

[Greg] Well, Dan,
tell me about your vision
here.

Because right now,
this just looks
like a big hole.

[Dan] It is a big hole.

But it is the future site
for our zinc-aluminum pot
for CGL two.

You remember when we toured
continuous galvanized line
number one,

when you referred
to the steel strip
as a mirror?

This is the area
where we'll coat

with both the zinc
and aluminum to the strip

and get it into the products
that we discussed earlier.

Okay, well,
how long will it take you
to get this up and running?

[Dan] The construction
and engineering of this

will be finalized
and this line up and running

within a year from now.

[Greg] Wow, that's amazing.

Well, I know
there's lots more to see,

so are we gonna be able
to check that out?

We absolutely will.

I saved the best for last,

but we're gonna need my truck
to get there.

-Let's take a ride.
-Let's go.

[Greg] Dan,
there's a lot of construction
going on here.

What do you think?

Another three, four years
before you start producing
out of this?

[Dan] No, no,
this will be operational
in less than a year.

BRS was one
of the best start ups

in the history
of the steel industry
in North America.

Very aggressive timeline,
very challenging.

That engineering
and construction group
that built BRS

is actually building BR two.

We've managed to keep
that whole group together.

We are on schedule
and on budget
at this point in time.

When you have a great time,
why break 'em up, right?

Okay, so Dan,
tell me about the buildings
that are right in front of us.

[Dan]
So this building is one
of our autonomous coil yards.

So this is
high-tech automation.

Moves coils,
stores coils

and ships coils by rail
or truck

-without human interaction.
-[Greg] Wow.

[Greg] So what are
the other buildings

that are under construction
right now?

So to the left
is the finishing areas

that we talked about before.

That's the value added lines

attached to the pickle
and tandem mill process.

And then the back
is gonna be where
our hot end goes.

The meld shop
and our endless strip
processing,

our ESP technology
for casting and rolling

[Greg] Now in the past,

most of this stuff
would've been spread out
over several areas

or-- or maybe even
a couple of different towns.

But you're doing everything
right here.

[Dan] That's correct.
We act as our own
general contractor.

So you'll see buildings
in different states

with concrete pours,

with girders and beams
being put up,

with skins putting
on the outside.

We actually get
the buildings up,

and some of these buildings
were actually storing

some of our equipment
and already,

so it's under shelter.

Wow,
this has been amazing, Dan.

Thank you so much.

I can't wait to see
how this all develops.

But in the meantime,
I've gotta get back
to Inventionland.

-How about give me a ride
to the gate?
-Yeah.

[chuckles softly]

Hi, Dave,
welcome to Inventionland.

Great to be here, George.
Thanks for having me.

I couldn't wait for you
to get here,

'cause I'd like to hear
a little more

about the future of steel.

[Dave] Well,
I'm holding the future
of steel.

The future of steel
is now.

Thin as a piece of paper.
Feel that.

Mined, melted and made
in the good old USA.

It's light too.

How strong?

[Dave] Durable
as that heavy piece of steel
you just picked up.

That's really cool.

I'm hearing some great things.

Greg was talking
about everything you're doing
down there,

and he then said
a $3 billion plant
being built right now.

[Dave] You know,
you think about US Steel,

there's a lot of firsts
associated with US Steel.

We've been around
for 122 years.

Now we're the first
US steel company

to set a net zero emissions
target for 2050.

With the Big River,

we're the first ones to have

a lead certified mill
in the United States.

And now,
Responsible Steel
has actually certified

the mill at Big River Steel.

So you've made
a big investment
in the future?

[Dave] Yeah,
think about this steel.

This goes
in the electric motors.

So you stamp it,
you stack it.

And it's so lightweight,

that it lets the motors
go further.

That is,
further between charges,

so that you can actually
take your-- your vehicle

on that long vacation.

With a new kind of steel
that's lighter, stronger...

Only company to make it
in the United States

that's 75% to 80% less
GHG emissions.

-GHG, I'm sorry?
-G--

[Dave] Greenhouse
gas emissions.

-Ah.
-We have to make sure

that we're doing our part
to reduce that.

Well, I can't thank you enough
for coming into Inventionland.

It's great to be here.

All right, take care now.