Project nominated for the Innovation Steelie 2021
JFE has developed a new type of tine-free Steel (TFS) with a granular metallic chromium layer. The granular chromium breaks the chromium oxide layer by point contact, achieving low contact resistance.
The deposition of nanometer-scale fine granular chromium is controlled by a unique electrolysis technology. The new TFS has superior weldability compared to tinplate and is the world’s first TFS that enables high-speed welding of beverage cans.
The newly developed TFS costs less than tinplate, contributing to the reduction of can manufacturing costs. Since unit power consumption is substantially reduced in comparison with tinplate, the new TFS can reduce CO2 emissions from the plating process by half. As a tin-free product, it can also contribute to the stabilisation of the price of metallic tin and a stable supply of steel sheets for cans.
Some of the advantages of the newly developed TFS over conventional tinplate include:
- Weldability: 1.7x
- Material cost: -8%
- Energy saving and CO2 emissions: -56%