Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the U.S. ITER Project Office, which is housed at ORNL, have developed a new cast stainless steel that is 70 percent stronger than comparable steels and is being evaluated for use in the huge shield modules required by the ITER fusion device.

With the market demand for steel slowing down and steel price falling, Hebei Steel Group has decided to cut production by another 10%-20% following the 20% decrease in its current production, said China Business News today. This move is seen as a measure to cut the manufacturing costs and stop the plummeting of market prices.

Steel forged railroads, skyscrapers and the automobile industry. Now it may help solar energy become cheaper and more widely available. In a study scheduled for the March 20 issue of ACS' weekly Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Finnish scientists report an advance in replacing the single most expensive component of a cutting-edge family of solar cells with less costly material.

By mimicking a brick-and-mortar molecular structure found in seashells, University of Michigan researchers created a composite plastic that's as strong as steel but lighter and transparent.

Chaparral Steel Company (Nasdaq: CHAP) announced on July 10 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation for $86.00 per share in cash.

Steelmaker Nucor Corp. representatives said on Monday that it expects second-quarter earnings to be well below Wall Street expectations, hurt by softness in the automotive and residential construction sectors.