A number of emerging industries, such as galvanized steel rebar, are fertile ground for growing zinc market share, industry officials said Wednesday, while a foothold for zinc in other industries, like energy, remain sometime in the future.
Continuously galvanized rebar -- or applying an anti-corrosive coat of zinc to steel infrastructure like bridges and highway guardrails -- has market potential of 125,000 mt/year, said Rodrigo Daud, CEO of American Zinc Recycling and chairman of the International Zinc Association.
Speaking at the IZA Roundtable in Pittsburgh, Daud said the rebar market could be set to take off as a common anti-corrosion material -- epoxy spray or powder -- has been banned in some countries, paving the way for wider use of zinc-based galvanizing, he said.
Zinc thermal spraying is another potential for expanding zinc's footprint, Daud said, representing a market greater than 100,000 mt/year. He said IZA is working to penetrate that market for using zinc in wind energy, ships, railways and bridges.
Another goal is to protect zinc's existing share in automotive galvanizing, he said, estimated at 600,000 mt/year. Daud added that the market growth potential in China alone for automotive galvanizing is 350,000 mt/year in five years, with India estimated at 40,000 mt/year in the same time period.
But zinc's inroads into some other industries, particularly batteries and energy storage are still considerably down the road, IZA officials said.
The problem is making a zinc-based battery that is fully rechargeable and that can last for a long period of time, Daud said. "It is still a work in progress, he said. "We're watching, not driving right now." He noted that new technologies include zinc-air and zinc-flow batteries.
Stephen Wilkinson, also with IZA, noted that zinc's participation in the energy storage market is also a long way away.
He noted that, for now, the current market comprises a mix of individual, differing technologies, rather than a "collective" marketable technology where zinc can gain a foothold.
