Swedish specialty steel manufacturer SSAB announced that its US subsidiary SSAB Americas, The Greenbrier Companies and Alter Trading have launched a circular economy initiative to demonstrate how recycled materials can be continuously reused in steel production. The project aims to create a closed-loop value chain in which recycled metals are converted into near-zero-emission steel products and subsequently returned to the steelmaking process for future production runs.
The initiative begins at SSAB's Iowa facilities, where the company produces SSAB Zero™ steel using recycled metals and fossil-free energy. According to the company, SSAB Zero™ is associated with nearly zero fossil carbon emissions and is produced without the use of carbon offset mechanisms. Steel products form the basis of the three companies' new circular economy partnership.
Greenbrier will produce 50 railcars
As part of the project, Greenbrier will produce 50 gondola railcars using SSAB Zero™ steel. The wagons will then be delivered to Alter Trading, a metal recycling and recycling company. Once deployed, the rail cars will be used to transport recycled metals from Alter Trading's facilities back to SSAB's steel mills, where the materials will be reintroduced into the production process.
The model is supported by documented manufacturing processes, established logistics networks and material tracking systems that track recycled content throughout the supply chain, the partners say. The companies stressed that the project is based on physical material flows and proven production methods, rather than the use of carbon offsets
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