ArcelorMittal has unveiled a breakthrough technology for metallic coating to its customers, the new Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD) line in Liège, Belgium. Jetgal^® is the brand name for the JVD zinc coating applied to steels for the automotive industry.

At an inauguration event in Liège (Belgium) on 2 February 2017, hundreds of ArcelorMittal’s customers visited the new Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD) line in Kessales, Liège, which started production in January 2017 and which is the only one of its kind in the world.

With the new line now operational, a new generation of metallic coated steels is born, offering enhanced product performance and a more environmentally sustainable production process.

The new line will produce coated steels for the automotive sector, as well as industries including domestic appliances, heating and ventilation, and interior building applications.

JVD is a breakthrough process, both in terms of production process and product development. The JVD technology works by coating a moving strip of steel in a vacuum chamber, vaporizing zinc onto the steel at high speed. There are multiple advantages to this new type of technology, including:

• Exceptionally even coating of the steel sheet
• Excellent adhesion of the coating, no matter what the steel grade, and avoiding ultra-high strength steel from becoming more brittle under the influence of hydrogen
• Working in a vacuum enables lower evaporation temperatures, and also creates a ‘pure’ environment which removes the risk of the zinc and steel oxidising
• A lower environmental footprint. A life-cycle assessment evaluating the environmental impact of this process as a whole - the coating, the use phase of the products, the waste products and their management – showed a higher yield and lower energy consumption than other coating techniques. JVD technology has the lowest ‘global warming potential’ – a measure used in life-cycle assessment - of any industrial steel coating process
• Highly flexible process thanks to its ability to produce different coating thicknesses (one side vs another) and to coat a variety of substrates regardless of their chemical composition.

The arrival of JVD technology adds to ArcelorMittal’s unique range of metallic coatings: Zinc, Aluzinc^®, Galfan, Magnelis^® and Zagnelis^®, Alusi^®, Alupur^®, Galvannealed, electrogalvanised and now Jetgal^® and Jetskin™  - the brand names for JVD.

Jetgal^® is the brand name for the JVD zinc coating applied to steels for the automotive industry. Jetgal^® has been specifically developed for Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) for cold forming such as Dual Phase, TRIP, MartINsite^® and Fortiform^®. It is also future-proofed to ensure it can be applied to any future AHSS ArcelorMittal may develop. Steels coated with Jetgal^® offer a very homogenous coating (up to 10 µm thick). The uniformity of the coating improves corrosion protection significantly and provides an excellent aspect after stamping and painting. The automotive industry also values the absence of brittleness risk for ultra high strength steel under the influence of hydrogen.

For other markets such as indoor building applications and appliances, the brand Jetskin™ is an outstanding alternative to electro-galvanised, including in low thicknesses (0.4 to 0.6).  Appliances, doors and drum manufacturers as well as producers of interior building applications (cupboards, desks, shelves, air conditioners, ceilings and electrical cabinets) are already testing JetskinTM. They value its surface quality as it allows a cost-effective painting process, its high formability and enhanced weldability, as well as the outstanding flexibility of the line in terms of service (shortened lead time).

The technology used in the new coating line was developed by R&D teams at ArcelorMittal and the CRM Group research centre, with the support of Belgian investment fund Sogepa.

ArcelorMittal continuously invests in R&D to develop the steels and processes of the future and to offer to its customers solutions that will respond to the challenges they face. Our metallic coating processes such as electrolytic galvanizing and hot dip galvanizing have made steel more durable.

By designing and commissioning the first JVD technology ever, ArcelorMittal is demonstrating once again its position as the world’s leading steel and mining company, and its commitment to ever more sustainable products and processes.