GREEN STEEL
We are a recycling company
Reusing scrap without consuming refined ore and coal/coke makes the production of stainless steel one of the oldest recycling technologies. 90% scrap and 10% alloying elements are used to produce steel. In addition, there are consumable materials like refractory, electrodes, electricity, and gas. The scrap used as feed material is 100% recyclable.
Breitenfeld therefore contributes significantly to the recycling economy and resource efficiency.
They say the future is electric – we already are. There are several ways to produce steel. At Breitenfeld, we solely use the electric steelmaking process (melting with electric arc furnace). Compared to blast furnaces, the production with the electric arc furnace is more flexible, specialized, and eco-friendly.
The electric arc furnace can be powered up and down depending on the use.
CO2 emissions from crude steel production in the electric arc furnace are 90% lower than in integrated metallurgical plants that operate blast furnaces.
The average emissions of the EU steel industry per ton of produced steel are almost 2.0 t CO2 – considering direct emissions (Scope 1). Scope 1 across all production plants of Breitenfeld Edelstahl AG is 0.215 t CO2/t steel – so, around 1/10 of the European average.
CO2 emissions can be further reduced by using green electricity. We are already working on projects to use green electricity.
The basis for steel production at Breitenfeld is scrap. The scrap collection system that is available in Austria is used to collect steel products that are no longer usable. There, we make sure that travel distances are as short as possible. So even in this early phase we are able to avoid CO2 emissions by choosing short transport routes, 75% of which are conducted by rail.
Our products are made of 90% scrap and leave a small ecological footprint as they can be 100% recycled, and therefore contribute to the conservation of resources and to environmental relief.
Raw material management is key for Green Steel, in terms of obtaining scrap, scrap cleanliness and division, as well as exact calculation of usage.
Scrap is also fed back directly into Breitenfeld’s scrap cycle by customers.
High-quality stainless steel significantly extends product durability and enables a higher energy efficiency of machines, engines, and other end products. At the end of a product’s life, the next step is recycling the scrap, and thus the start in the stainless steel production cycle.
