The Corrosion Protection and Aging Branch of the Chinese Society of Automotive Engineering, in cooperation with BYD Auto, hosted the 11th VCAP Forum on Automotive Corrosion Protection and Aging Technology in Shenzhen on June 27- 28, 2024. The event brought together over 400 industry professionals from OEMs and supply chain companies. Chris Zhou, Product Marketing Manager at MKS’ Atotech, presented innovative solutions for reducing the carbon footprint through advanced corrosion protection processes, which generated considerable interest and discussion.
Carbon accounting in the automotive sector
The automotive sector is a major contributor to China’s carbon emissions. As the industry strives to meet the “Dual Carbon Goals”, leading international OEMs have committed to carbon neutrality and outlined strategies to decarbonize their entire supply chains within specified timelines. To comply with local regulations and international carbon emission standards for exports, domestic OEMs will soon set carbon reduction targets.
Determining how to perform carbon accounting and manage suppliers’ carbon emissions will be a key priority for manufacturers in the future. MKS’ Atotech has developed a product-level Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) using cradle-to-gate principles based on ISO 14040. This approach covers all stages of a product’s life cycle and quantifies its environmental impact. A proprietary CO2 calculator simulates energy consumption at various stages of production, enabling accurate measurement of carbon emissions.
Strategies for carbon reduction
MKS’ Atotech offers several strategies to help customers achieve their carbon reduction goals in the area of corrosion protection:
- Process optimization: Using efficient raw materials, such as a ONE-coat zinc flake basecoat, which reduces the number of coatings and the coating thickness without compromising protection.
- Improving product performance: Innovations such as the XLink spray additive, a curing agent for organic topcoats that accelerates curing at lower temperatures, reducing chemical consumption and emissions.
- High-performance auxiliary equipment: The alkaline zinc nickel barrel plating process with an improved carrier system ensures homogeneous plating and reduces electrolyte decomposition. In addition, a wastewater-free closed loop system for zinc nickel plating eliminates wastewater generation.
Challenges and solutions in corrosion protection for new energy vehicles (NEV)
The increasing export of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) brings diverse corrosive environments and stringent environmental regulations in overseas markets, posing significant challenges to domestic automotive OEMs. Meanwhile, different vehicle areas require tailored anti-corrosion and aging standards. Optimizing these standards can enhance corrosion resistance, improve vehicle safety and durability, save energy, and reduce emissions. This is critical as OEMs adopt adaptive design and new lightweight materials.
By focusing on adaptive design, the integration of new lightweight materials, and the continuous evolution of anti-corrosion requirements, MKS’ Atotech helps OEMs meet both carbon reduction and corrosion resistance goals.