Steel Markets
BMW to Source "Green Steel" from Swedish Startup
Written by David Schollaert
October 23, 2021
The BMW Group has reported a deal to source low-carbon steel from H2 Green Steel (H2GS) beginning in 2025.
The German automaker will source the green steel from the large-scale, hydrogen-based steel plant H2GS is building in Norrbotten in northern Sweden. At more than 95% lower gross CO2 emissions than conventional production methods, H2GS’s steel will significantly advance the automaker’s mission to reduce its carbon footprint.
“Our goal is to reduce CO2 emissions in our steel supply chain by about two million tonnes by 2030,” BMW AG Board Member Dr. Andreas Wendt said. “Sourcing steel produced using hydrogen and green power can make a vital contribution to this.”
In addition to the delivery of green steel, the BMW Group and HSGS have also agreed to create a closed-loop material cycle. H2GS will take back sheet metal remnants and will process them back into new steel coils for the automaker to reuse.
The BMW Group is already using between 20% and 100% secondary steel in its vehicles and will continue to increase this percentage in the future. BMW Group plants in Europe process more than half a million metric tonnes of steel per year, the company said.
“Steel is essential for producing cars and will be no less important for future vehicle generations,” added Wendt. “Innovative technologies that enable virtually carbon-free production of steel have a significant impact on our ability to reduce CO2 emissions in our steel supply chain.”
The sourcing agreement between BMW and the Swedish steelmaking startup for fossil-free steel follows on a similar agreement between Volvo and SSAB’s HYBRIT project back in April.
By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com
David Schollaert
Read more from David SchollaertLatest in Steel Markets
President Trump intends to set additional steel tariffs
While boarding Airforce One on Friday, US President Donald Trump stated that he would be setting more steel tariffs and putting ~100% tariffs on semiconductors and chips.
USS, government officials give update on Clairton Coke Works incident
U.S. Steel, Allegheny County executive Sara Innamorato, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro clarified details from early reports about the Clairton Coke Works facility explosion just one day earlier.
Hot-rolled spot market conditions linger, prices slip
Market participants said they have high hopes that the stable hot-rolled spot market will improve as the year rolls on.
Discontentment brews in plate market with flat, status-quo pricing
Sources in the carbon and alloy steel plate market said they are less discouraged by market uncertainty resulting from tariffs or foreign relations, but are instead, eager to see disruption to the flat pricing environment.
Dodge Momentum Index surges in July
The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) jumped 20.8% in July and is now up 27% year-to-date, according to the latest data released by Dodge Construction Network.