[Translate to Englisch:] BILSTEIN GROUP – Kaltband-Coils mit deutlich geringerem CO2-Fußabdruck an den ersten Kunden übergeben

On July 23, 2021, the first BILSTEIN cold-rolled coil was delivered to their long-standing customer Hettich. The starting material comes from Salzgitter's new SALCOS program and, therefore, reduces CO₂ emissions by more than 70 percent in the entire manufacturing process compared to conventionally manufactured cold-rolled coils.

"An important milestone for the reduction of CO2 emissions in the BILSTEIN GROUP," says Marc T. Oehler, Shareholder and Chairman of the Management Board of the BILSTEIN GROUP. "For us as a future-oriented company in the cold rolling industry with a state-of-the-art plant park and efficient processes, it goes without saying that we are intensively looking into the availability and possible applications of CO₂-reduced hot-rolled strip through cooperative ventures with our primary material supplier, such as Salzgitter AG in particular."

At the end of June 2021, the first three hot-rolled coils were handed over from Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH to one of the largest cold-rolled suppliers, the BILSTEIN GROUP. These coils from Salzgitter AG's SALCOS project are characterized by a CO₂ emissions reduction for more than 70 percent compared to conventionally produced steel. Thus, only these three coils save approx. 90 tons of CO₂, which corresponds to the annual CO₂ emissions of 50 passenger cars with an average annual mileage of 15,000 km/year. Salzgitter AG relies on the method of CDA (Carbon Direct Avoidance), the direct avoidance of CO₂ creation.
At the end of 2020, Salzgitter AG successfully produced the first low-CO₂ green steel slab at the Peine plant. Following the modification of the continuous casting line, it is now possible to meet the high interest in such materials. The slabs are then rolled out into coils at Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH. These environmentally friendly steel products can be used for all common applications such as, for example, in vehicle manufacturing, construction and industrial applications.

"The BILSTEIN GROUP and Salzgitter AG have enjoyed a successful business relationship for decades. We are very pleased to be among the first companies to receive significantly CO₂-reduced hot-rolled strip from Germany as part of the SALCOS project," said Michael Ullrich, Managing Director Technology at BILSTEIN GROUP.

The BILSTEIN GROUP is in intensive dialogue with all its input material suppliers with a view to significantly reducing CO₂ emissions in the production of the hot-rolled strip it uses. Nevertheless, the objective remains to purchase starting material produced in a CO₂-neutral manner. 
"What will be increasingly exciting in the coming years is the question of the extent to which our customers are prepared to bear the additional costs incurred in the production of "green steel"," says Bernd Grumme, Managing Director Sales of the BILSTEIN GROUP. "In this context, it must be clear that the additional costs incurred cannot be charged to steel production or processing."