Tokyo --- JFE Steel Corporation and Osaka University announced today that they established the JFE Welding Research Alliance Laboratories on the university premises this past April, aiming to solve problems and clarify methods that lead to new open innovation in the fields of the welding and joining iron and steel materials.

The laboratory is expected to become a world-leading institute for studying welding and joining technologies concerning iron and steel. Joint research will be carried out nimbly and rapidly under a strong industry-academia partnership that uses the talented human resources and advanced research facilities of both partners.

JEE Steel and two Osaka University auspices—the Joining and Welding Research Institute and the Graduate School of Engineering’s Division of Materials and Manufacturing Science, have been collaborating in research and practical applications for welding and joining under a partnership agreement signed in 2008.

Welding and joining technologies are critical for the utilization of iron and steel. The needs for reduced weight and increased strength are growing in the manufacturing sector, particularly the automobile and energy industries and for steel structures such as ships, buildings and bridges.

Innovative research projects at the laboratory will involve the use of large-scale test facilities of JFE Steel and advanced experimental facilities of Osaka University. The laboratory is also committed to developing talented personnel capable of contributing to the next generation of manufacturing. Research targeting practical applications will include voluntary research projects proposed by young researchers.

Overview

Name:	JFE Welding Research Alliance Laboratories
Location:	Joining and Welding Research Institute, Osaka University, Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture
Director:	Prof. Manabu Tanaka (Vice Director, Joining and Welding Research Institute, Osaka University)
Vice Director:	Kenji Oi (Principal researcher of JFE Steel, Steel Research Laboratory and Guest professor at Joining and Welding Research Institute, Osaka University)
Vice Director:	Tetsuya Tagawa (same as above)
Main activities:
1.	Achievement of research projects with regard to steel welding technologies, that are fundamental understandings of weld phenomena, deepening weld metallurgy and reliable assessments for safety service in welded structures.
2.	Establishments of the world’s only one top position in welding R&D technologies through the collaborations of practical technologies based on large & advanced facilities in JFE Steel and academic researches in Osaka University.
3.	Developments of the world’s top level leading researchers through the innovative collaborations together with students in Osaka University and young researchers in JFE Steel.

About JFE Steel

JFE Steel Corporation, one of the world's leading integrated steel producers, was established through the consolidation of NKK Corporation and Kawasaki Steel Corporation in 2003. The company operates several steelworks in Japan and numerous branch offices and affiliates throughout the world. JFE Steel leverages world-class technologies and know-how to produce a wide range of products based on its “Only One, Number One” strategy of focusing on unique and best-in-class products. The company reported consolidated sales of 2,349 billion yen and consolidated crude steel output of 30.41 million tons in the fiscal year ended March 2017. For more information, please visit https://www.jfe-steel.co.jp/en.

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