Awards presented in the Market Development, Technology, Safety, and Sustainability categories highlighted outstanding projects in the stainless steel industry focused on digital transformation, efficiency improvement, and sustainable production.
Organized since 2010, the awards aim to make visible the innovations driving the transformation of the industry, while the winning projects of 2026 consisted of applications creating measurable impact, supporting digitalization, and contributing to low-carbon production targets.
Market Development Awards
In the Market Development category, the Gold Award was presented to ASSDA’s project titled “From 30 Tons of Carbon Steel to 3 Tons of Stainless Steel Cable: Redefining Sustainable Infrastructure.” Within the scope of the project, engineers at Narre Warren Station replaced a 30-ton carbon steel beam with a 3-ton grade 316 stainless steel cable beam system, reducing material usage by 90%. The project drew attention by improving ease of construction and safety while being implemented without the need to stop railway operations.
The Silver Award was presented to POSCO for its stainless steel technology developed as an alternative to copper in cooling pipes. The Bronze Award went to the Orona Essentia elevator project developed by Acerinox Europe. The project improved sustainability and reliability while achieving up to 75% reduction in energy consumption.
Technology Awards
In the Technology category, the Gold Award was presented to POSCO’s project titled “Transforming Stainless Steel AOD Refining with Smart One-Touch Automation.” Through integrated control systems and AI-supported process management, the project achieved a 100% carbon hit rate, shorter refining time, and automation performance exceeding 95%.
The Silver Award was presented to POSCO’s fine-grained austenitic stainless steel project developed for cryogenic use and clean energy applications. The Bronze Award went to Aperam for its smart condition monitoring system project, which improved fault detection and equipment reliability.
Safety Awards
In the Safety category, the Gold Award was presented to Aperam BioEnergia’s program titled “Safe Driving: Accident Prevention Measures and Cultural Transformation.” The program aimed to reduce risks in logistics operations exceeding 1.5 million kilometers per month through applications such as driver training, vehicle safety, telemetry systems, and fatigue monitoring.
The Silver Award was presented to JFE Steel for its project improving production safety through an AI-supported image detection system. The Bronze Award went to Aperam BioEnergia for its remote unmanned operation system application designed to improve worker safety.
Sustainability Awards
In the Sustainability category, the Gold Award was presented to Acerinox Europa’s project titled “SIDECO Blue Footprint: Hybrid Water Leak Detection and Control System.” Through IoT sensors and smart forecasting mechanisms, the system detects water leaks in real time and provides annual water savings of approximately 20,000 cubic meters.
The Silver Award was presented to Aperam BioEnergia’s “Water Cycle” project, which reuses treated municipal wastewater in forestry operations. The Bronze Award went to Columbus Stainless for its application reducing water evaporation through shading ball technology.
The awards demonstrated the global impact of projects driving transformation in sustainability, digitalization, and operational safety within the stainless steel industry.
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