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CSN and WEG closed an agreement for the development of sustainable steel that will use graphene. The limit for industrial scale will be until next year.
A National Steel Company (CSN) and the giant multinational WEG entered into a technological cooperation partnership for graphene to be included in the coated steel production chain. The first tests were carried out in the laboratory and achieved positive results. Now, the initiative is moving towards carrying out tests on an industrial scale, which should take place by the end of 2023 and will determine whether or not there is economic viability for the development of new steel products using the nanomaterial.
CSN and WEG may create a joint brand for the sale of sustainable steel based on graphene
If the industrial tests are successful, the companies do not rule out the chance of developing a joint brand to consolidate the commercial positioning of the new products, however the window is still open on business alternatives.
A CSN and WEG are on hold until the completion of the experiments, as the process is already in the pilot phase. On the other hand, company executives already discuss periodically to closely monitor the results of inserting graphene in sustainable steel through a joint committee.
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Graphene-based steel can result in steel product without application of chromium
Executives brainstorm future possibilities for the technology and support the operational teams at the forefront of the initiative. For now, the priority is on the commercial scale development of the application of graphene on the surface of sustainable steel.
Led by the teams at CSN Inova and the innovation area at WEG Tintas, the collaboration between the companies can result in the development of a steel product without application of chromium, a toxic and heavy metal, which will be replaced by graphene, an input with sustainable potential and unique properties, however, still considered expensive and with few applications in the industry.
Benefits provided by graphene
The replacement would take place during the resin production stage, a material that is responsible for connecting the iron in the inner layer with the outer coating, which can be developed with different materials, such as zinc or aluminum.
In addition to the sustainable benefit, graphene gives steel greater physical resistance and durability, increasing the added value of the product, since the useful life of the material is longer. According to the head of innovation management and technology development at CSN Inova, Felipe Spiri, Graphene significantly increases the metal's resistance to the corrosion process.
The development of a new product steelmaker from the nanomaterial could favor margin gains (difference between production costs and sale price) for CSN. Spiri points out that this is a product made with advanced technology, so there is room to expand the margin.
Um new sustainable steel based on graphene, it opens up a range of new sources of income and already identifies a high demand for higher quality materials. There are potential customers in the automotive sector, for example.
Limit for commercial scale will be until the end of the first half of 2024
Spiri points out that the markets with the greatest potential for the application of sustainable graphene-based steel should be aimed at white line products and the automotive and civil construction sectors. In geographic terms, Paraná is also the state with the most promising possibility in terms of demand, in case of success in industrial tests and commercial operation.
The superintendent director of WEG Tintas, Rafael Torezan, says that the limit for the commercial scale will be, at most, until the end of the first half of next year. The executive claims that it is possible to say that there is a great interest in the new technology.
Weg is responsible for developing specific formulations to apply graphene in the resin that binds the steel with the coated material.
