The innovative coating saves 80 % of zinc

The material-saving surface microZINQ, developed by the Gelsenkirchen-based company ZINQ® Technologie GmbH, is one of the four winners of the NRW Efficiency Award 2019, which has a total prize fund of 20,000 euros. The award was presented in the evening by the NRW Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser at the German Sport & Olympic Museum in Cologne.

For the eighth time, particularly innovative and clever products and services that contribute to a sparing and efficient use of resources have been honoured with the NRW Efficiency Award. Alongside the award organiser, the Effizienz-Agentur NRW, this year's cooperation partners were the Consumer Advice Centre NRW (Verbraucherzentrale NRW) and, for the first time, NRW.BANK.

„With piece-by-piece galvanising, significantly less material is used. The jury has therefore awarded this prize specifically in recognition of this positive aspect of the service. The zinc coating is considerably thinner with microZINQ, resulting in savings of up to 80 % of zinc,“, explained jury member Michael Hermanns, head of department at the NRW Environment Ministry, the reasons for awarding the prize to ZINQ® Technology.

Indeed, the advanced micro-galvanising process provides treated materials with sustainable, long-term protection against corrosion, significantly reducing the use of materials and energy compared with conventionally hot-dip galvanised surfaces. True to the motto: less is more. In addition to the cathodic protective effect, a highly durable top layer is formed that is extremely resistant to corrosive media and mechanical stress. Compared with frequently used coating processes, microZINQ achieves many times the previously attainable protection periods. The innovative technology does not therefore replace previous applications for hot-dip galvanising, but rather creates new possibilities. Alongside agricultural engineering and mechanical engineering, well-known passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturers such as BMW, Daimler and Schmitz Cargobull now use microZINQ surfaces in millions of units. „microZINQ closes a gap where hot-dip galvanising was previously not considered a solution,“ says Lars Baumgürtel, Managing Partner, with conviction. „With the new process, metal-processing companies can now deliver a completely new quality. The components are more durable, more sustainable, and innovative, high-strength steels can also be galvanised with it.“

In the 2000s, the process was developed to production standard for the automotive industry for the first time in a development project with cooperation partners. Today, microZINQ already protects over 20 million vehicle components worldwide. This was followed in 2015 by the urgently needed expansion of plant capacities.

The company has already granted a microZINQ licence to a German automotive manufacturer, and further licence awards are pending. There is also great interest in this functional and sustainable solution within the electromobility sector.

Lars Baumgürtel on future developments: „Steel is one of the most sustainable materials of our time. Protected against corrosion permanently with microZINQ, the material can be used in a more versatile and environmentally friendly way.“

microZINQ is a surface certified according to Cradle to Cradle standards. It thus already meets the requirements of the EU Circular Economy Directive today. The C2C criteria for the certification level of microZINQ require not only proof of the complete recyclability of the substances used in the process and the zinc surface itself, as well as the use of renewable energies (complete conversion to green electricity since 2013), but also the exclusion of toxic substances from the process and product, so that the substances used in the manufacturing process can be processed and reused. These include the cleaning solutions, the rinsing solutions, the zinc ash and the resulting hard zinc.

If the annual European production of 8.15 million tonnes of galvanised steel were to be converted entirely to microZINQ technology, 1.324 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved each year simply through the production of thinner zinc layers. Based on Germany, with a consumption of 2.1 million tonnes, this results in a saving of 341,000 tonnes of CO2.

Diverse application areas

The draft standard „E DIN 50997 Zinc-aluminium coatings applied to steel by thin-film galvanising – Requirements and tests“ was recently published. The draft standard specifies requirements for the properties and tests of coatings applied by immersing fabricated iron and steel parts (including certain castings) into a molten zinc-aluminium alloy with an aluminium content of 4% to 6%, which also includes the microZINQ process. This standardisation makes it possible to use microZINQ surfaces in the construction sector and opens up potential for their use in other fields of application with high corrosion protection requirements.

In 2015, capacity at the microZINQ site in Hagen was able to be expanded once again. The investment in the construction of the new 7-metre plant also included funding of approximately €1.7 million from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the European Union via the European Regional Development Fund.