ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products and Tier 1 automotive supplier Gestamp have signed a ‘circularity agreement’ aimed at strengthening environmental sustainability throughout the industrial supply chain. The agreement involves jointly designing and implementing a circularity scheme that will enhance the recycling of steel between Gestamp and ArcelorMittal and ultimately, offer benefits obtained to their automotive customers.
In March 2022, Flat Products delivered its first tons of XCarb recycled and renewably produced, which is made via the Electric Arc Furnace route using a minimum of 75pct of scrap steel and 100pct renewable electricity for the steel making process. This results in a CO2 footprint close to 70pct lower than the same product made without XCarb recycled and renewably produced substrate.
In July 2022, ArcelorMittal and Gestamp successfully trialed the use of low carbon-emissions steel and high scrap content for use in car parts that will ultimately be used in the production of vehicles in Spain and throughout Europe. At the time, this was the first publicly announced cooperation of its kind, paving the way for the greater use of low-carbon emissions steel in the automotive sector.
Since December 2022, Gestamp has also provided visibility on its roadmap to promote and extend the business’ circular economy model, focusing on the use of recycled steel. Securing the availability of high-quality scrap will support the increased usage of this low-carbon emission steels in automotive parts. The integration of scrap management into Gestamp’s business strategy allows for complete life-cycle traceability by integrating the collection, sorting and reuse of quality steel scrap into its production chain, in an environment where this secondary raw material is scarce.
Enhancing the reliability of the scrap supply chain for low carbon-emissions steel products is an important part of the decarbonization process. The new agreement signed offers the supply guarantee to the OEMs who want to use reduced CO2 steel solutions. Both companies recognize that this reliability is best achieved through collaboration among supply chain partners. This collaboration will allow automotive customers, once they have started with the CO2 performance on their vehicles, to maintain it over the lifespan of the vehicle until end of its production.
