AK Steel formally opened its Research and Innovation Center in Middletown, Ohio. The new $36 million, 135,000-square-foot facility sits on 16 acres near AK Steel's Middletown Works and its West Chester, Ohio, corporate headquarters. The Research and Innovation Center's laboratories and pilot steelmaking facilities include 17 prototype laboratories, 17 analytical laboratories and 22 collaborative spaces for employees, customers and suppliers. AK Steel expanded its innovation team over the last two years by 30%.

The Research and Innovation Center further expands AK Steel’s capabilities to bring new steel products to the marketplace. These products include next-generation advanced high-strength carbon and specialty steels to help automotive customers design lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles that maintain superior strength and safety performance; electrical steels that will enable the nation's electricity grid to become more energy-efficient and improve performance in motors for hybrid and electric vehicles; and new stainless steels that offer superior corrosion resistance for a wide variety of applications.