Zinc association seeks to boost galvanised steel use in cars

The International Zinc Association (IZA), in a joint initiative with Vedanta subsidiary Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) and IIT-Bombay, is working at raising awareness on the benefits of using galvanised steel in vehicles.

“India loses approximately 5 per cent of GDP every year due to corrosion losses vis-à-vis around 3.2 per cent in the US. Galvanising is not only about the economy but it has a positive impact on the environment as well as for passenger safety,” said Vikas Sharma, COO (Smelters), HZL, in a media meet here earlier this week.

Cutting emissions The company owns a product which is specifically used for galvanised steels and is presently being supplied to select domestic steel manufacturers, he added.

IIT-Mumbai, which has done a study on corrosion in cars in Mumbai, has found that galvanised steel not only reduces the weight of car bodies, but also trims emissions and increases the life of the vehicles.

A survey of about 500 cars showed four parts are prone to corrosion — bonnet, boot, rocker and door panels.

Regulatory framework “India is set to become the fourth largest automotive manufacturer in the world. With the increase in demand for vehicles, there will be a growing demand for steel. Corrosion protection through galvanisation will be an important factor to boost the automotive market in India,” said Prof AS Khanna of IIT-Bombay. Galvanised steel has been used for decades across Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea for body panels, mainly because of the regulatory frameworks in these economies.

Indian carmakers use galvanised steel for the body panels in export models. “All car models exported from India are galvanised as per the regulatory norms mandated by the US/ Europe, but the same car models are not galvanised for the Indian market, which is the sixth largest market in the world.

Cost saving The overall benefit to the automaker to convert the 400 kg car body-in-white from cold rolled steel to galvanneal is estimated to offset the material and processing cost.

Galvanisation also brings down the cost of maintenance, passing down benefits to the end users,” said IZA consultant Kenneth D’Souza.

He added that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is engaging with industry experts on formalising a set of standards in line with the international standards for automobiles.