Salzgitter AG is planning to establish the Group as an independent market leader for circular economy solutions with innovative products and processes. Achieving this goal can only be successful together with strong partners and networks. To this end, closed-loop value flows and supply chains are to be established in cooperation with customers and suppliers. Salzgitter AG is committed to binding, science-based CO2 reduction goals and is joining the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

In a first step, the following goals shall be achieved by 2030:

Expansion of the scrap recycling activities by over 50% to more than three million tons a year
A core element of the new strategy consists of significantly accelerated decarbonization within the context of SALCOS – SAlzgitter Low CO2-Steelmaking. In charting this course, the Salzgitter Group is reinforcing its role as a front runner in low-CO2 steel production. As early as 2025, the first blast furnace is to be replaced by direct reduction plants and electric arc furnaces. More than one million tons of green steel produced via this route is planned for 2026. By 2033, which is 12 years earlier than originally scheduled, the integrated steelworks are to have been fully aligned to the new world.

Gunnar Groebler, CEO, Salzgitter AG, said, “This is one of the biggest changes in the 150-year history of the Salzgitter Group. CO2 savings of 8 million tons a year are achievable, which corresponds to around one percent of Germany’s emissions. The key precondition is that policymakers now set the right economic and political framework conditions in place. This particularly applies to the topics of creating green leading markets, clarity in terms of funds to promote the transformation, and accelerating approval procedures.”