01/12/2023 | Sustainability

Waelzholz now sourcing low-carbon emission wire rods from ArcelorMittal

It’s another milestone on the road to decarbonization: as part of their business partnership, ArcelorMittal will be supplying C.D. Wälzholz GmbH & Co. KG with low-carbon emission wire rods ─ known as XCarb® recycled and renewably produced ─ from its Hamburg plant in the future. These steels are produced on the basis of scrap and renewable electricity (100 percent). The low carbon footprint of 504 kg (1,111 lbs) carbon dioxide per metric ton of steel is confirmed with an official Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The first metric 20 tons of wire rods were delivered this week to the cold rolled steel manufacturer’s site in Hagen, Germany. Waelzholz will be using the material to manufacture hardened and tempered profiles for industrial applications, among others.

ArcelorMittal already began supplying XCarb® green steel certificates to the international manufacturer based in Hagen, Germany, back in 2021. The reduction of carbon emissions in these certificates is 2.11 metric tons of carbon dioxides per metric ton of steel and originates from various sustainability projects at ArcelorMittals production sites. The savings are mass balanced on a central account and independently verified.

“Sourcing low-carbon emission wire rods from the company is now the logical continuation of our partnership and allows us to expand our range of climate-friendly wire rod products. ArcelorMittal has been a valued supplier and worked with us on the development of new materials for many years. The first 20 tons are simply a prelude to further talks on increasing the supply quantity of low-carbon emission wire rods,” explains Dr. Matthias Gierse, Managing Director Sales and Purchasing at C.D. Wälzholz GmbH & Co. KG.

Several employees from Waelzholz and ArcelorMittal standing in front of wire rods

Delivery of the first low-carbon emission wire rod coils at Waelzholz in Hagen, Germany (from left): Marcus Englberger (Purchasing Manager, Waelzholz), Joachim Scheibe (Area Manager Bars and Rods, Northern Europe, ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products), Markus Schmidt (Manager Purchasing Raw Material and Energy, Waelzholz), Dr. Michael Thiele (Head of Quality Assurance, ArcelorMittal Hamburg), Dr. Matthias Gierse (Managing Director Sales and Purchasing, Waelzholz), Mark Brunner (Technical Customer Service, ArcelorMittal Hamburg), Lisa Durst (Purchasing, Waelzholz), Igli Kerleshi (Sales Manager Bars and Rods, Northern Europe, ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products)

Working together towards climate neutrality: Waelzholz using XCarb® from ArcelorMittal

“We are seeing increased interest for low-carbon emission steel on the part of customers and are pleased to be able to offer our XCarb® steel to a long-standing customer such as Waelzholz. As a result, we are taking a further step towards climate neutrality together,” says Dr. Uwe Braun, CEO of ArcelorMittal Hamburg.

Carbon neutrality across the entire value chain

This partnership highlights both companies’ decarbonization plans. Waelzholz is pursuing an ambitious roadmap that aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. The technology leader was the first company in the cold rolling industry to implement a validated process for calculating the product carbon footprint of every single material variation. At the same time, Waelzholz is working to create the technological conditions necessary to be able to replace natural gas with hydrogen in its own production processes.

ArcelorMittal, one of the world’s leading steel producers, aims to achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest. On the path to this goal, the company intends to reduce emissions in Europe by 35 percent by the year 2030. Along the steel value chain, the two companies want to jointly embark on a climate-friendly path – from raw material production and its further processing to the finished product.