TOKYO — Japan’s second-largest steelmaker JFE Holdings Inc. sees the use of a technology known as “Gigacasting” as a risk to the company’s business as it could lead to a drop in steel consumption, Chairman Koji Kakigi told reporters.
Toyota Motor, the world’s best-selling car maker, has become the latest automaker to plan to introduce ‘Gigacasting’ – house-sized aluminum injection molding machines that can produce much larger aluminum parts than those previously used in car manufacturing.
“Gigacasting”, pioneered by Tesla, enables the production of larger and lighter parts – essential for electric vehicles with heavy batteries – reducing costs and attracting interest from automotive giants including General Motors and Hyundai Motor.
“The amount of raw steel used will obviously decrease,” Kakigi said at a press conference Wednesday, calling Gigacasting a “big problem.”
Since aluminum is less strong than steel, iron may be needed in the most vulnerable electric vehicle components to increase safety.
JFE Holdings may consider investing in coking coal, which is essential for steelmaking, Kakigi added, expecting demand for such assets to remain stable in the coming decades.
In May, JFE Holdings said net profit for the current fiscal year would rise 17% to 190 billion yen ($1.4 billion) thanks to a recovery in the auto sector.
