Our high-performance steel materials are real enablers of transformation in numerous industries and applications. This is especially true for materials used in wind turbines, hydropower generators, electric motors, and fuel cells, all of which play a key role in driving the energy transition forward. We are also systematically advancing the transformation of the steel value chain towards a climate-neutral future on various levels. We already offer our customers all of our steel materials with a reduced product carbon footprint today. And without compromising on quality, of course.
Steel materials with a reduced carbon footprint
Further processing, approval procedures, and the requirements of the final products require our steel materials to have reliably consistent properties. One of our strengths is our ability to provide material solutions that precisely meet customer requirements while maintaining the tightest tolerances across multiple batches. For this reason, our technological standards stipulate that the required reduction in the carbon footprint of our materials must not lead to changes in their mechanical and technological properties. This is why we have established a system that allows us to offer every material grade in consistent quality with a reduced product carbon footprint, depending on the amount of carbon savings.
Allocation of savings on the basis of a carbon accounting system: digital, transparent, and validated
Using our proprietary method, we digitally track and process energy data and carbon emission factors and assign them to individual products. This calculation methodology is fully integrated into our ERP system and has been validated by GutCert with regard to its conformity with the relevant international standards ISO 14067 and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
This calculation method also enables us to track actual carbon savings – for example by using raw materials with reduced carbon emissions, optimizing our electricity mix, or improving our energy efficiency. In our carbon accounting system, we accumulate these carbon savings in a provisional account. After an external audit by DNV, the verified carbon savings are then recorded in the final carbon footprint account and offered to our customers for their materials. The most important component of emissions savings, however, is the availability of raw materials with a reduced carbon footprint, which accounts for 90% of the total footprint of our materials. As this more climate-friendly hot rolled steel strip is currently only available to a limited extent, we too can only offer low-emission steel materials within this framework.
Identical material properties with a reduced carbon footprint
Our customers can purchase the material they need with the desired level of emissions reduction, which is scalable. This is then deducted from the carbon footprint account mentioned above and reported on the mill certificates. This provides our customers with a real and usable reduction in emissions in relation to their material with defined and consistent mechanical and technological properties. Due to the limited availability of emissions reductions, they must be purchased on the basis of an individual agreement.
Advantages of our low-emission cold rolled steel strip:
- Savings available for every material
- Still offers maximum quality in terms of the material properties such as formability, tensile strength, surfaces, and magnetic properties
- Established production processes and quality concepts remain unchanged
- No additional approval processes
- Emissions reduction can be scaled flexibly depending on the availability of the raw material
Decarbonization REDUCING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT
Our materials are enablers of transformation in the energy, mobility, and industrial sectors. On the road to a climate-neutral future, we already make it possible to achieve a certified reduction in the carbon footprint of our products today.