04/27/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/27/2021 02:33
Showa Denko K.K.
April 27, 2021
Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) (Tokyo: 4004) has started full-scale marketing of 'ST60-HSM™'*1 aluminum alloy board, which has high heat conductivity and high strength, for use as on-bard bus bar*2. In 2021, SDK started to provide several automotive parts manufacturers with samples of ST60-HSMTM aluminum-alloy boards to be used as on-board bus bars.
ST60-HSM™ developed by SDK is an aluminum alloy board which has high heat conductivity equivalent to that of pure aluminum and high strength equivalent to that of 6061 aluminum alloy*3, and is used as chassis of backlit LCDs for PCs.
Due the background of global movement to strengthen efforts toward realization of carbon neutrality, the car industry has been accelerating shift to electric cars including hybrid cars, plug-in hybrid cars and EVs. In addition, the car industry is now required to promote weight reduction of cars in order to improve fuel efficiency and increase travelable distance. Therefore, the industry is aggressively promoting shift from copper-based equipment to lighter-weight aluminum-alloy-based equipment in various components including wiring harnesses and bus bars to connect on-board motors with converters and inverters with generators.
SDK's ST60-HSM™ is an aluminum alloy board that has high heat conductivity, high strength and high electric conductivity, and also has high fatigue strength and high heat-resisting property that are required for on-board bus bar. Aluminum bus bar made of ST60-HSM™ is 43% lighter than conventional copper bus bar*4, and also contributes to cost reduction because the new aluminum bus bar is priced lower than conventional copper bus bar.
On the basis of technologies to design and process aluminum alloys cultivated through operation of many years, SDK will aim to maximize the value of customers' experience by providing solutions for them, thereby expanding the Showa Denko Group's aluminum rolled products business.
Media contact: CSR & Corporate Communication Office (Phone: 81-3-5470-3235)