POSCO to Create 'Smart Green City' with Steel Solutions

POSCO Steel, KT Internet of Things (IoT), and Myztec Combine Tree Guard Manufacturing Technology to Develop Eco-Friendly Smart Street Facilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] POSCO is joining forces with KT and Maiztech to build a 'Smart Green City.'

On the 21st, POSCO signed a 'Business Cooperation Agreement for the Construction of Smart Green Cities' at the POSCO Center with KT and Maiztech, an eco-friendly street facility manufacturer.

The Smart Green City project is part of the Green New Deal policy promoted by the Ministry of Environment. Through this agreement, the three companies plan to propose 'smart street facilities' to local governments and form a task force (TF) to jointly promote marketing efforts.

The smart street facilities combine POSCO's steel technology, KT's Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and Maiztech's manufacturing expertise to create eco-friendly street infrastructure. These facilities consist of water supply blocks that store rainwater to timely provide moisture to street trees and protective guards that prevent root uplift. IoT sensors installed in the water supply blocks monitor the condition of the street trees and soil in real time, autonomously determining when water is needed.

This system helps prevent street trees from dying due to heatwaves caused by global warming and extends their life cycle, thereby reducing carbon dioxide in urban areas. Additionally, applying smart street facilities allows for systematic underground installation (burying or embedding underground) of power and communication lines installed above ground, as well as complex underground piping, improving the city’s aesthetics.

POSCO plans to develop these smart street facilities by combining the capabilities of large corporations, small and medium enterprises, and venture companies. POSCO will supply PosMAC, a corrosion-resistant special steel, as the material for the water supply blocks and protective guards, and provide steel utilization technology. KT will build an IT infrastructure platform using IoT sensors such as rainwater pipe monitoring sensors and leakage current detection sensors installed in the water supply blocks. Finally, Maiztech will manufacture and supply the street tree water supply blocks and protective guards under POSCO’s premium steel integrated brand ‘INNOVILT.’

Additionally, permeable pavement blocks made by POSCO’s in-house venture company Eomtech, using by-products from steelworks, will be installed as a package around the street tree protective guards. Unlike conventional brick pavement blocks, these permeable blocks allow rainwater to penetrate the ground and can be disassembled and reassembled, making them eco-friendly.

Meanwhile, the Smart Green City project is one of the government’s eight major Green New Deal initiatives, aiming to realize sustainable environmental cities in response to climate and environmental crises. The government plans to select 25 Smart Green Cities and invest a total of 290 billion KRW over two years starting in 2021.