Anglo American and Salzgitter Flachstahl have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the decarbonisation of the steelmaking industry by identifying strategies to minimize carbon emissions.
Salzgitter Flachstahl makes a range of high-quality steel products that are optimized for their intended use and is the Salzgitter Group’s largest steel business.
The two businesses propose to conduct research into feed materials, such as iron ore pellets and lump iron ores, that are appropriate for direct reduction (DR) steelmaking using natural gas and hydrogen, a substantially less carbon-intensive process than the standard blast furnace (BF) method. Additionally, the collaboration may examine the development of broader hydrogen technology.
Peter Whitcutt, CEO of Anglo American’s Marketing business, said:
“We have set ambitious targets to help address climate change by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, including achieving carbon neutrality across Anglo American’s operations by 2040.
“While steel is a critical building block of our modern lives, and itself a critically needed material for the energy transition, the steel industry is a significant producer of carbon dioxide. That’s why we are committed to collaborating with industry-leading players like Salzgitter Flachstahl to develop strategies that capitalise on the premium quality properties of our products to help drive emissions reduction across the entire steelmaking sector.”
Ulrich Grethe, Chairman of the Management Board of Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH and member of the Group Management Board of Salzgitter AG said:
“With this project we continue to progress important milestones on the way to low CO2 steel production. In driving our SALCOS® technology concept forward, we aim to decarbonise steel production as efficiently and quickly as possible. We are delighted to be partnering with Anglo American, our long-standing major supplier of high-grade ores, for joint reflection and potential projects.”
