Thyssenkrupp Steel will begin supplying its Bluemint recycled, a CO2-reduced steel product, to the BMW Group this year, the company said.
The material will be used in series production of the BMW iX3, including outer body panels, interior components and the battery housing. Bluemint recycled contains a high proportion of scrap and delivers verified CO2 savings compared with conventional steel, without requiring changes to BMW’s existing manufacturing processes.
Bluemint recycled is produced via the blast furnace route, with part of the iron ore replaced by specially processed scrap, reducing coking coal use and associated emissions. The product uses a mass-balance approach, certified by TUV Sud, allowing CO2 reductions from the production process to be allocated proportionally to finished products while maintaining the surface quality and formability required for automotive outer panels.
For electric vehicles, the material is also being applied to battery housings, where steel’s fire resistance, structural strength and electromagnetic shielding offer advantages for safety and performance.
The supply agreement forms part of Thyssenkrupp Steel’s broader transition toward carbon-neutral steelmaking, including plans for a hydrogen-capable direct reduction plant with annual capacity of up to 2.5 mln tons of DRI, enabling substantial CO2 reductions. The company aims to convert all production to climate-neutral Bluemint steel by 2045.
