Klöckner proposes methodology for green steel

Steel distribution group Klöckner & Co has come up with a system by which it would introduce carbon-reduced steel to its customers. The topic was the focus of the company’s annual press conference, held in Düsseldorf on Wednesday, attended by Kallanish.

In collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, the company has developed a categorisation metric for green and low-carbon steel. The metric is rooted in international, science-based standards and categorises low-carbon steel into six categories, ranging from CO2 shares of 1,750 kg down to 400 kg/tonne of finished steel.

This is “an easy way to reliably assess and compare the carbon footprint of green steel, so that customers in the future can reliably, transparently and easily see the carbon footprint of a product purchased from Klöckner,” the company claims.

It will be able to provide low-carbon steel in various categories towards the end of this year. Klöckner & Co aims for the two lowest-carbon-footprint categories to account for over 30% of its entire range by 2025 and 50% by 2030.

“There is no common denominator yet for what is ‘green steel,’” ceo Guido Kerkhoff said at the conference. The definition offered by Klöckner differs from the approaches taken by the steelmakers because it takes the perspective of the customer, he pointed out.

“Mills find it hard to find a common ground because they come from different paths of making steel,” he said. “Our aim was a definition that customers can use as a tool for their calculation.”

Klöckner last year already sought partnership with the Swedish venture H2 Green Steel, and is one of the first companies to secure access to substantial quantities of steel produced as of 2025. In fact, representatives from H2 Green Steel attended the conference as a station of a business trip campaign to find more partners in Germany and its neighbours.

Christian Koehl Germany