"Rethink the future": sustainable and cost-effective surface treatments for aluminum

As the world's leading trade fair, ALUMINIUM brings together producers, processors, end users and technology suppliers from the aluminum industry and its most important application industries. Henkel Adhesive Technologies, one of the world's leading experts in adhesives, sealants and functional coatings, will present its surface treatments for aluminum. These include light metal pretreatment, electroceramic coating, battery treatments, and anodizing. The goal of these technologies is to improve the properties of the material and thus significantly increase performance and service life.

This is particularly important in view of the growing demand for the sustainable use of recycled aluminum alloys in the e-mobility, sports and leisure, urbanization and architecture sectors. The challenge here is to keep the quality of the end product constant. "Under the motto 'Rethink the Future,' we want to trigger a rethink throughout the industry: As an expert in surface treatments, how can we contribute to saving water, CO₂ and energy? By developing sustainable solutions for sustainable applications that also require fewer process steps and save costs in the long term," says Raul Hernandez, Senior European Technical Manager GI Light Metal Finishing at Henkel.

One example of this is Bonderite: Conversion coating for aluminum replaces chrome VI products or traditional alternative pretreatment systems – even under the most difficult working conditions such as long exposure times or high temperatures. "The pretreatment of aluminum housings offers a great deal of potential to increase the handling and efficiency of e-mobility batteries," says Julien Bardin, Technical Manager Functional Coatings Electrical Vehicles at Henkel. "Bonderite M-NT 2040 R2 increases the corrosion resistance of parts and provides a better welding result – the quality improvement is 95 percent compared to 60 percent for untreated aluminum components." The product meets QUALICOAT and REACH standards, which also makes it much safer for production line workers.

At ALUMINIUM, visitors can see the diverse technologies and end-use applications offered by Henkel Adhesive Technologies for themselves. A mini version of a battery case and a bicycle control box exemplify how the right metal pretreatment processes meet various architectural, OEM, and industry standards. Henkel's team of experts provides information on sustainable and cost-effective applications and gives advice on challenges throughout the value chain.