Henkel offers custom-tailored products and services to steer the future of e-mobility

As part of its active global support for the metal coil industry, Henkel is partnering with major coil producers to implement dedicated process solutions for end applications in e-mobility. In addition, the company is also addressing demands for reducing the complexity of downstream manufacturing steps by enabling continuous upstream functional coating processes without compromising the technical properties of the coated material.

E-mobility is a megatrend that requires new approaches to enable the production of electrical applications in increasingly larger volumes, as required to meet the expected growth of hybrid and fully electrical vehicles. Metal coil producers play an essential role in this market, supplying steel and aluminum coils to the manufacturers of batteries, transformers, converters, wound cores, shunt reactors and other key components for e-drive and electrified powertrain systems.

Henkel is determined to help its customers in this dynamic market segment to steer the future of e-mobility and gain a competitive edge with a complete portfolio of products and services for metal pretreatment and functional coating. Moreover, in underscoring its commitment to the metal industry beyond established downstream solutions, the company is also exploring advanced concepts together with major metal coil manufacturers, designed to bring the value-added benefits of its functional coating products to upstream processes.

“So far, most functional coatings are applied in secondary process steps at the battery or component manufacturers’ sites, increasing the manufacturing complexity of end products, which is a considerable time and cost factor particularly with high-volume applications,” explains Aziz Mabrouki, Business Director Metal Coil Europe for Henkel. “In close collaboration with major customers, we have developed an integrated coil pretreatment and functional coating technology that can be applied in a continuous upstream process and will not only maintain but even improve the performance properties of the coated metal. In other words, adding value right on the coil.”

Henkel’s process know-how extends across the entire value chain from the rolling oil for electrical steel to specific pickling inhibitors and cleaners to specialized new functional and conductive thin coatings, such as for covering the aluminum foil used in EV battery systems. Besides providing reliable corrosion protection for painted or unpainted substrates, these products have been custom-tailored to improve the overall performance of e-mobility applications by enhancing insulation and bonding properties, magnetic permeability and electrical conductivity. At the same time, they also address important sustainability goals, such as minimized product consumption and waste and the phase-out of hexavalent chromium ‏(CR VI) in metal treatment.

Latest product innovations targeted at both upstream and downstream metal pretreatment and functional coating for end products in e-mobility include:

Bonderite O-TO dedicated product range
Bonderite M-CR 12 series

In addition to the company’s comprehensive product portfolio for the metal coil industry, Henkel also offers special equipment to ensure best manufacturing practices in many coil process steps.