Swiss, German companies form green steel alliance

Five Swiss and German companies have formed a partnership that aims to significantly reduce carbon footprint for an electromagnetic actuator used in the automotive/truck sector.

The partners are Swiss Steel with its Steeltec subsidiary, bright steel manufacturer Andernach & Bleck, steel distributor Heine + Beisswenger, electromagnet manufacturer Magnet-Schultz and technology group ZF Friedrichshafen. It is the first time that five partners have agreed to reduce their CO2 emissions as part of a pilot project along the entire value chain, the alliance claims in a statement.

The chain involves CO2-optimised steel production at Swiss Steel, improved material and energy use in the drawing process at Andernach & Bleck, low-CO2 pre-processing by Heine + Beisswenger, and adapted turning and assembly processes at Magnet-Schultz and ZF.

On the basis of this holistic approach across all parts, including the assembly of the actuator, the end customer can obtain reliable information on the CO2 content of the components used, Kallanish understands.

According to the partners, a saving of 35% or 710kg of CO2/tonne of steel used could be achieved in the total value added in 2022 compared with 2019. In terms of the annual volume of 300,000 dial actuators and the associated core, which is made of steel, it accounts for around 35 tonnes of CO2 savings per year.

Christian Koehl Germany