Europe-wide carbon neutral by 2050

Sustainable products and innovative production processes: By 2050, ArcelorMittal wants to further reduce its ecological footprint in Europe and produce steel in a climate-neutral manner. Europe, with around 78,000 employees, a presence in 17 European countries and around 400 plants, is the continent in which ArcelorMittal has the strongest representation.

The main steps on the road to climate neutrality include the development of sustainable products and, at the same time, the change in production processes. While manufacturing is about avoiding, reducing, or using CO2 for other products, the Group's products are driven by innovation.

At the Blechexpo from 5 to 8 November in Stuttgart, ArcelorMittal will be showing its current range of advanced products that enable the sustainable construction of machinery, plants and vehicles. "If we want to reduce the amount of CO2 in the industry, we need to help our customers significantly increase the shelf life and longevity of steel products and make processing easier," says Jochen Grünewald, Managing Director of Flat Products at ArcelorMittal Commercial Germany. "This applies, for example, to the increased abrasion resistance, which relates to the weight reduction of steel with improved durability, which relates to the corrosion resistance of surfaces in extreme weather conditions and which concerns simpler processing such as improved weldability, which conserves further resources." For example, there are truck or excavator buckets that are in use for a longer time, cranes with lower weight, weather-resistant foundations for solar systems and cheaper washing machines. In addition, steel does not need to shy away from comparison to other materials. Because steel can be recycled up to 100 percent at the end of the life of the product. Grünewald: "The optimized products and improved processing lead to a significantly lower ecological footprint."

ArcelorMittal's product strategy goes hand in hand with new production concepts and the integration of renewable energy into the manufacturing process. One of the Group's most ambitious projects is the recently commissioned planning of a demonstration plant for the use of hydrogen on an industrial scale in steelmaking in Hamburg. The project is estimated at 65 million euros.

Source and photo: ArcelorMittal