Deutsche Bahn (DB) has been slow with its offtake of low-emission steel rail or even to buy any notable tonnages so far. Germany is lagging behind other European countries such as France, Austria, Belgium in terms of sustainable steel procurement for transport infrastructure, says Saarstal Acoval and Saarstahl Rail chief executive Nadine Artelt.
The latter unit of German steelmaker Saarstahl secured in February a significant contract valued at €1 billion ($1.1 billion) to supply railway operator SNCF with low-emission rail over six years.
A similar deal with Deutsche Bahn is not within sight, Kallanish heard from Artelt during a discussion panel at the Zukunft Stahl conference in Essen in March. Deutsche Bahn has an “enormous demand” for rails that she says is similar to that of SNCF, between 180,000-200,000 tonnes/year. “Still, starting talks was much easier in France and Austria,” she noted.
DB’s head of sustainability, Max-Christian Lange, conceded during the discussion that DB has not made the decisive move forward in this respect, despite its defined target to become climate neutral by 2040.
DB tenders for suppliers are preceded by discussions with its main owner, the German state. Lange alluded that talks at this level proceed sluggishly. With a view to sourcing CO2-reduced steels, therefore, “at the moment we at DB are still only in a position of a future supporter of the cause.”
Saarstahl Rail has an annual output of 400,000 tonnes of steel producing a variety of rail profiles, including vignoles, switches, grooved rails and rail tracks.
