Compared to Chinese steel, Japan and South Korea, in the production of special steel, have higher technology; Japan and South Korea’s steel prices are generally higher, and China’s steel prices worldwide are lower. Although the production and demand for Chinese steel is high, it has always been low in terms of technology and cost.
For example, in 2018, the global demand for special steel totaled as much as 100 million tons. Japan and Germany provided 20% and 18%, respectively. China provided less than 5% of the special steel.
From 2008 to the present, the amount and weight of China’s special steel imports have declined, which also means that China’s domestic special steel has been steadily rising.
Stainless steel foil has the lowest thinness of the variety of, only 0.015 mm; steel products are relatively thin and can be easily torn by hand, also called “hand-tear steel.”
Hand-tear steel has a wide range of uses, such as lithium battery materials, military nuclear power, energy storage batteries, flexible displays, etc.; folding screen cell phones use hand-tear steel material, this product has high requirements for thinness, so the production process is also a top priority.
In 2016, China Baowu TISCO Group started the research and development of hand-tear steel. After joint efforts, they finally produced domestic hand-tear steel. The thinness of their steel foil is very high, with a thickness of only 0.02 mm and a lower price.
