BlueScope Steel – inspiring smart solutions in steel

BlueScope BlueScope Steel Limited (BSL) is at the cutting edge of materials technology for application in prepainted and metal coated steel products and as such has a strong innovation focus to maintain technical leadership in a competitive global market. A key aim of BSL is to provide customers with safe, durable and sustainable products, the development of which is heavily dependent on the ability to understand materials performance. This in turn requires a fundamental understanding of the materials themselves and mechanisms that govern their performance, studied to the high level of detail. Delivery of BSL’s innovation roadmap requires high-capability analytical equipment to resolve and provide compositional and structural information about the materials that underpin new product developments. The pathway to innovation includes fundamental studies supported by PhD level research to investigate and deliver targeted outcomes as well as day-to-day support of the plant operation. In this context modern laboratories with high-end equipment on site as well as access to the specific expertise in the proximity are crucial to fulfilling the needs of the business long term. Examples of the collaborations range from sharing costs of the equipment purchase with the universities, support of the grants, outsourcing for specific testing which otherwise would only have intermittent usage and supporting cadetship arrangements to support the community and provide future work possibilities in the region.