World Stainless Association honours innovation at 2026 industry awards

The world stainless association has recognised some of the stainless steel industry’s most innovative projects at the 2026 Stainless Steel Industry Awards in Johannesburg, highlighting achievements in market development, technology, safety and sustainability.

The annual awards, established in 2010, celebrate projects that advance industrial innovation, digitalisation and sustainable manufacturing across the global stainless steel sector.

Infrastructure and low-carbon solutions recognised

In the Market Development category, Australia’s ASSDA received the Gold Award for its Narre Warren Station project, which replaced 30 tonnes of conventional carbon steel beams with just three tonnes of 316-grade stainless steel cable bowstring trusses.

According to the association, the lightweight modular design reduced material use by around 90%, improved construction safety and avoided rail shutdowns during installation. The project was recognised as an example of stainless steel’s potential as a durable and low-carbon solution for major infrastructure applications.

Silver went to POSCO for advancing stainless steel as a scalable alternative to copper in refrigerant piping systems, while Acerinox Europe received Bronze for its Orona Essentia lift project, which reduced elevator energy consumption by 75%.

POSCO wins Technology Award for AI-supported refining system

POSCO secured the Gold Technology Award for its “One Touch” automation system for stainless steel AOD refining.

The system integrates real-time carbon prediction, automated process controls and AI-supported operational logic to optimise one of the most complex stages of stainless steel production. According to the jury, the technology achieved a 100% carbon hit rate while reducing refining times and improving process stability.

Silver was also awarded to POSCO for the development of a grain-refined austenitic stainless steel for printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs), while Aperam received Bronze for a smart condition-monitoring system designed to reduce downtime in automated equipment.

Safety and sustainability initiatives highlighted

In the Safety category, Aperam BioEnergia won Gold for its “Safe Driving” programme, developed to improve logistics safety across operations covering more than 1.5 million kilometres per month.

The initiative combined driver training, real-time telemetry, fatigue monitoring and a “Just Culture” approach to significantly reduce unsafe behaviour and near misses.

Meanwhile, the Sustainability Gold Award went to Acerinox Europa for its SIDECO Blue Footprint system, a hybrid leak detection and water management solution designed to address regional water scarcity.

The company said the internally developed system saved around 20,000 cubic metres of water annually while reducing operating costs and improving industrial water efficiency.

Silver in the Sustainability category went to Aperam BioEnergia for its Água Circular initiative, while Columbus Stainless received Bronze for its shade-ball water conservation technology.

Source and Photo: Worldstainless