| Team members of 3I Solution pose with newly developed industrial neutron composition analyzer at the startup's research center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 10. Courtesy of Hyundai Steel |
By Kim Jae-heun
The country's second-largest steelmaker, Hyundai Steel, has succeeded in domestically producing an industrial neutron composition analyzer in collaboration with Hyundai Motor's in-house startup 3I Solution, the company said Thursday.
An industrial neutron composition analyzer is a device that analyzes the formation of raw materials using unique gamma rays generated when elements react with neutrons.
Until now, high-prized foreign analyzers were mainly used in the domestic market. The development of the device is expected to significantly improve the company's production efficiency by enabling real-time analysis of raw materials such as iron ore and iron scrap and deriving optimal mixing ratios for each raw material.
“The neutron composition analyzer market is dominated by five foreign companies, which take about 75 percent of the global share. 3I Solution plans to localize and commercialize neutron composition analyzer and gradually expand the market share based on our customer-tailored technology and price competitiveness,” a 3I Solution official said.
Previously, it took an average of eight hours to conduct a sampling of raw materials and test them during the analyzing process of iron ore and iron scrap components.
Neutron composition analyzers can perform a full inspection of raw materials during the transfer of raw materials and improve production efficiency by applying real-time generated data to the operation process.
3I Solution's device development project began when Hyundai Steel felt the need for technology to improve the classification of iron scrap in 2018.
The project was selected by the Hyundai Motor's startup team in 2021 after being recognized for its business feasibility. After two years of research and development, the performance verification of the composition analyzer was completed.