New anti-Covid steel developed in Hong Kong expected to hit market in 6 months

A new type of stainless steel developed in Hong Kong that can kill the Covid-19 virus on its surface within hours is expected to hit the market in the coming six months, reducing the risk of cross infection from contaminated doorknobs, lift buttons and other contact surfaces.

Billed as the world’s first anti-Covid steel, the material adds copper to the usual mix of metals, enabling it to inactivate 99.75 per cent of viable coronavirus cells within three hours, and 99.99 per cent within six, said Professor Huang Mingxin, from the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Hong Kong. Virus cells can live on regular surfaces for at least three days.