Partnering for transformation

"The world is changing; climate protection has become a task for society as a whole. National, international politics has set a clear course. We, Salzgitter AG, are rising to the challenge of CO2 reduction, we see it as an opportunity and place it at the center of our actions. This takes courage, courage towards change towards sustainable production processes, sustainable solutions and products - together with our customers."

Gunnar Groebler, Chief Executive Officer

Measures for decarbonization

Firmly anchored in our Salzgitter AG 2030 strategy
 

Find out more

Accelerated
decarbonization
The SALCOS® project makes us pioneers of decarbonization in the steel industry. From 2033, we want to reduce the CO2 emissions of our steel production by up to 95% annually and thus save over 1% of German CO2 emissions.
Expansion of
scrap recycling
Our scrap recycling is to be expanded to 3 million tons per year as part of the SALCOS® transformation program.
Electricity from
sustainable sources
Our electricity is to come exclusively from renewable sources by 2030. As early as 2025, 50% of our electricity needs are to be met from non-fossil sources.
Changeover to
SALCOS® route
From 2026, a third of our production will be converted to the SALCOS® route. Our processes will then gradually use more climate-friendly natural gas and green hydrogen instead of fossil coking coal to produce steel.
Complete
transformation
The transformation of low CO2 steelmaking is to be completed by 2033, making us one of the first steel manufacturers in Europe to do so.
100 %

towards the future

A practical example

Steel as the cornerstone of tomorrow's sustainable industry

Scenario

As part of a study by Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung, a steel handlebar concept was conceived, designed and evaluated as an alternative to an aluminum forged handlebar. The result shows interesting advantages in terms of costs and environmental balance - with an acceptable additional weight.

Life cycle

Due to the slightly higher weight of the steel component compared to aluminum, more emissions are emitted during the vehicle's use phase. However, due to the lower emissions during production and recycling, the CO2 balance of the steel component is often better.

Production

Steel is characterized by particularly low CO2 emissions in the production phase. And by using SALCOS® steel emissions during production can be reduced even further.

Life cycle emmisions steel vs. aluminium handlebar

Vehicle emissions

Vehicle emissions per 100 km: gCO2eq/km
Electric vehicle "green electricity"Electric vehicleHybridPetrolDiesel

Emissions steel production

CO2 Emissions production (Steel handlebar): kgCO2eq
Green steel from PeineSALCOS®Blast furnace route

Emissions aluminum production

CO2 Emissionen Produktion (Aluminiumlenker): kgCO2eq
Green aluPrimary alu conv. Eurostrommix

This tool was developed by our experts for life cycle analysis. The data originates mainly from the database of the LCA for Experts software from Sphera (https://sphera.com/life-cycle-assessment-lca-software/). They have been carefully researched and selected. Nevertheless, deviations may result that have a positive or negative influence on the life cycle assessment of the component, so that one concept (steel/aluminum) appears better or worse. The tool is therefore not intended for a quantitative component assessment, but merely to visualize and clarify the most important influences such as the material used and the type of drive. We will be happy to answer any specific questions you may have.

Low Emission Steel Standard

Green steel classification system

We want to demonstrate the improved climate impact of SALCOS® products to our customers in a transparent and comparable way. With the Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS), the German Steel Federation, in cooperation with its member companies and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK), has created an industry-wide, internationally compatible labelling system for CO2-reduced steel that enables precisely this transparency and comparability.

The standard is based on two pillars: in future, a product will be given a specific product carbon footprint and a classification of the hot-rolled input material. The classes range from E to Near Zero according to the reduced climate impact. All information for the Low Emission Steel Standard is verified and certified by independent testing centres. This enables customers to compare manufacturing processes and products transparently and reliably. LESS and the associated claim to transparency is the core of our SALCOS® green steel brand - all products are classified and certified in accordance with the standard.

The sliding scale creates threshold values according to which the hot-rolled steel product can be classified into different emission categories. Category C is only possible by switching to sustainable production technologies such as DRI, EAF and the use of renewable energies.

The categories indicate the transformation ambition in the production process. Conventional steel production in an integrated steel mill is generally in category D or E. SALCOS® products are at least in category C or better.

The vertical axis indicates the CO2 emissions up to the hot-rolled product of a reference production. With the help of adjustment rules, the emissions of the SALCOS® hot-rolled strip are converted to this reference and enable classification. The result should not be confused with the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF).

The horizontal axis shows the proportion of scrap used in the production of the steel product. The reason for this is that the use of scrap on the one hand significantly reduces CO2 emissions, but on the other hand there are restrictions on the availability of scrap, for example. By categorising them depending on the scrap content, the different steel production routes can be compared in their transformation ambition.

Leading the transformation

Since 2015, we have been working with partners from industry and research on the path to virtually climate-neutral steel production. The core of the program is the switch from coal-based steel production to hydrogen-powered direct reduction plants and electricity from renewable sources. By the end of 2033, we will be technically able to reduce our CO2 emissions by around 95 percent.

Our SALCOS® brand stands for physically CO2-reduced green steel products from the Salzgitter Group with a clear product promise and transparent certification. It is the strong result of our vision to transform the industry together with our customers and make a real contribution to decarbonisation. Green steel products can already be sourced from the Group's electric arc furnace route. Steel products from the transformation programme of the same name will follow from 2026.

100 %

of the steel can be recycled
during steel production –
without any loss of quality at all

Circularity

Recycling strategy

Scrap already plays an important role in steel production today. The recycling rate of steel is almost 100%. Today scrap is either used to produce secondary steel or a fixed percentage is used in primary steel production for process-related reasons. The switch to electric arc furnaces in the SALCOS® route changes the significance of scrap for our primary steel production. In future, scrap can be melted together with DRI in the electric arc furnace to produce steel grades with a variable scrap content. This will enable us to achieve an even lower CO2 footprint. We are aiming for a product range from 0 to 60 % scrap content.

Another driver

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is part of the European Union's (EU) "Fit for 55" package. A primary goal of this package is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by at least 55% by 2030. The European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is a key EU climate protection instrument. Companies have to purchase emission allowances for the greenhouse gases they emit. 

Companies can now choose to relocate their production to countries with less ambitious climate protection targets to avoid the costs of emission allowances. In order to reduce the incentives to relocate production, particularly emission-intensive companies have so far been given a portion of the emission allowances free of charge. The free allocation will be gradually phased out by 2034 as planned. The CBAM system is now intended to counteract the competitive disadvantages in the EU ETS by aligning the costs of imported goods with goods produced in the EU. To this end, a compensation payment should be made for the import of certain emission-intensive products into the EU, which takes into account the difference in CO2 costs compared to production within the EU.