OEMs go for Nippon Steel's eco-sound sheets

Nippon Steel Corp. said its proprietary Ecocoat-S steel sheets are enjoying rising use as a material for automotive fuel tanks. The Tokyo-based company said it expects all passenger-car manufacturers in Japan to be using the product by the end of this fiscal year 2010, adding non-Japanese automakers have also begun adopting the material. Since its market launch in 2005, the domestic auto industry’s acceptance of Ecocoat-S has grown, and it can now be found in most metallic automotive fuel tanks, which make up about two-thirds of automotive fuel tanks. According to the company, superior environmental performance, such as complete recyclability and minimized energy consumption during production, has been required of fuel tanks in recent years, spurred by growing environmental awareness, on top of such fundamental specifications as gas impermeability to prevent volatile organic compounds in fuels from penetrating through the tank material for release into the atmosphere. With a plating structure that takes full advantage of the anticorrosion natures of tin and zinc, Ecocoat-S steel sheets are designed for superior corrosion resistance. (April 1, 2009)