ArcelorMittal is teaming up with French automotive component maker Lisi Automotive to build components and assembly systems using the steelmaker’s low-carbon, sustainably produced XCarb steel. The aim is to reduce carbon footprint in the vehicle manufacturing process, Kallanish notes.
“Today, ArcelorMittal can manufacture wire rods with less than 700kg of CO2 per tonne of steel at its plants in Hamburg and Warsaw, saving up to 70% of CO2 emissions compared with traditional production methods based on the blast furnace route. With the innovative DRI route of steelmaking, which is a key part of ArcelorMittal’s decarbonisation strategy, the CO2 impact of the products will be reduced even further,” the firms say in a joint note.
For Lisi, the use of XCarb steel will represent a carbon footprint reduction of up to 45%, reducing up to 10.000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in its production process. This is the equivalent of the emissions of 10,000 Paris-New York journeys for one passenger, Lisi explains.
ArcelorMittal is investing heavily in low-carbon emission steel production. Earlier this year, it signed a partnership with French automotive supplier Snop to test the use of its high-strength, low carbon-emissions Usibor steel in structural car parts. While tests are underway, the two firms signed an agreement that also covers the supply and purchase of other XCarb solutions, including XCarb green steel certificates (see Kallanish 3 July 2023).
The steelmaker intends to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and cut CO2 emissions by 35% by 2030 in Europe. The company started producing XCarb low-carbon products last year at its Sestao plant using the electric arc furnace route, scrap steel and 100% renewable electricity.
Natalia Capra France
