Anglo American, Salzgitter Flachstahl to collaborate on green steelmaking

Anglo American (a British multinational mining company) and Salzgitter Flachstahl (a German flat steel producer and a part of Salzgitter Group) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly work on finding ways to cut carbon emission in the steelmaking industry.

The collaboration may also explore developing broader hydrogen technologies. Both partners will jointly investigate an optimal iron ore supply for the direct reduction process. They will research feed materials, including iron ore pellets and lump iron ores, suitable for direct reduction (DR) steelmaking based on natural gas and hydrogen, a significantly less carbon-intensive production method than the conventionally used blast furnace (BF) process.

The joint research work aims to minimise the CO2 footprint of steel production, including considering process and logistics chains that are as low in CO2 as possible. The new, low- CO2 production systems and production processes place special demands on the properties of the raw materials, their treatment processes and logistics.

Peter Whitcutt, CEO of Anglo American’s Marketing business, said, “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, said, “With this project, we continue to progress important milestones on the way to low CO2 steel production.”