The Saarstahl Group is taking part in the reECONIC concept vehicle from Mercedes-Benz Trucks, supplying "green" steel as a primary product for the axle.
Together with a total of 32 partners, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is using the battery-electric waste collection vehicle to demonstrate the feasibility of a particularly resource-efficient commercial vehicle made of recycled materials. The project partners aim to pave the way to series production and to closed material cycles.
Steel production via the electric steel route
The steel for the axle was produced at the Saarstahl Ascoval electric steelworks in France. Further processing into bar steel took place at the Saarstahl site in Völklingen.
"The steel for the axle was produced by us using scrap. The recycled content amounts to 96 percent," explains Dr. Nadine Artelt, Sales Director Saarstahl. "In terms of quality, it is in no way inferior to steel produced via the blast furnace-converter route and can be processed unchanged in the subsequent series production processes."
Green steel as a building block of the circular economy
Like hardly any other product, "green" steel stands for a lived circular economy: it is multi-recyclable. In the spirit of resource conservation, the production of electric steel represents a closed cycle and is thus an essential component of sustainable supply chains.
Outlook on market development
"We are pleased to be part of this forward-looking project," emphasises Daniël Nicolaas van der Hout, Sales Director of Saarstahl. "The successful implementation of the reECONIC shows the potential that sustainable materials such as CO2-reduced steel hold for climate protection. The next step is to further advance their use by building up a corresponding market."
