JFE, thyssenkrupp develop new high-tensile steel

Japan’s JFE Steel Corporation and Germany’s thyssenkrupp Steel Europe have jointly launched a new 980 and 1180MPa class high-strength steel for cold forming.

These new products are designed for the wide applications of next-generation vehicles including battery electric vehicles, Kallanish understands. According to the partners, they represent higher yield strength and higher ductility, especially excellent local ductility, compared to conventional high-tensile steels.

These characteristics contribute to higher productivity and lower manufacturing costs at customers because the complicated components can be formed by conventional cold forming processes without using hot stamping.

The products feature a new steel composition and microstructure, focusing especially on the local ductility of steel and by establishing a new heat treatment method utilising the quenching and partitioning process. JFE and tk Steel continue to jointly develop products with even higher strength levels, they say.

Christian Koehl Germany