Developments of Advance High Strength Automotive Grades at JSW Steel

The advent of the new millennium calls for increased attention to light weighing, reliability in product performance and passenger safety in the automotive segment. The upcoming Indian BS VI norms coming in year 2020 has caused the automakers to expedite programmes to reduce vehicle weight for better environmental performance. To cater to the automotive industry's challenge for lightweight car solutions, steelmakers worldwide are responding with the development of Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS). AHSS enables automakers to reduce vehicle weight up to 35% compared to conventional steel as per world auto steel FSV study.

To align with global benchmarks, and to reduce import of steel in India, JSW had setup India's first and largest continuous annealing and galvanising line with the capacity of 2.3 MT steel in June 2014 at Vijayanagar Works. JSW's state-of-the-art cold rolling mill is capable of producing a width up to 1,870 mm with its thickness ranging from 0.3 mm to 2.3 mm. It is India's widest cold rolling mill with state of art automation control. It enables automotive manufacturers to localise the procurement of skin panel and AHSS material in spite of difficult SKU.

Despite a late entrance in the automotive steel market, JSW boasts its achievement of developing of high strength automotive steel grades. The strategic collaboration of JSW with JFE Steel Ltd. - Japan steered JSW ahead of its competitors in AHSS development. Automotive steel grades up to 980 MPa strength and galvanised GA/GI products up to 590 MPa strength have been successfully developed and approved by key auto OEM's. Cold rolled hot forming grades having strength up to 1,500 MPA post hot forming has also been developed for auto structural application. These high-end grades come in response to market requirements for stronger and lighter automotive steels. Furthermore, the grades were developed in short lead time coupled with focussed approval of automotive grades.

JSW developed AHSS steels meet compulsion of the property requirements like phosphatability, excellent bendability, weldability, fatigue resistance, bake harden ability and hole expansion. For the coated grades, the iron percentage in the coating layer and the phases formed after galvannealing are critically controlled. It results in good formability and anti - powdering property, essential for automotive applications.

AHSS product development for automotive market has been the key focus area in the strategy of JSW. Combining with the requirements on light weighing of auto body, safety and environmental regulation, JSW steel lead the development of AHSS in India. These grades are in commercial production and are approved by various automakers like Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Maruti, Tata Motors etc.

JSW's high end steel development is a crucial step towards import substitution and accomplishing the Government's 'Make in India' vision.

As a testimony, JSW steel has received the Steelie Innovation Award-2016 from World Steel Association for 'Development of AHSS with Speed and Innovation'.