STABILS FROM BILSTEIN STEEL FIBER

Our contribution to sustainable concrete components

Our goal is to continuously improve the sustainability of concrete components. With the new steel fiber STABILS, we offer a sustainable solution with a significantly reduced carbon footprint. Compared to conventional reinforcing steel, STABILS requires less steel per unit volume of concrete and additionally saves material by eliminating the need for reinforcing mesh. Furthermore, our steel fiber reduces the wall thickness of concrete components and thus also the CO₂ consumption in the production of cement.

At a time when resources are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive, it is of great importance to save material. After all, using less concrete on the construction site not only reduces costs, but also transport costs and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. In this way, raw materials and CO₂ emissions can be saved on several levels.

Our research and development team, in cooperation with external partners, is researching the recyclability of steel fiber reinforced concrete with STABILS. We aim to obtain clean fractions so that we can eventually reintroduce the steel into the material cycle.

Last but not least, STABILS steel fibers also benefit from the BILSTEIN GROUP's sustainability strategy. Here, we are continuously working towards CO₂-neutral steel, from which our steel fibers are ultimately also produced.

Sustainability in action at the BILSTEIN GROUP

As one of the world's leading manufacturers of cold-rolled strip, the BILSTEIN GROUP attaches great importance to sustainability and energy efficiency. To achieve this goal, the company invests both in the development of more environmentally friendly production and manufacturing processes and in innovative products that make ecological and economic sense.

The BILSTEIN GROUP makes strategic decisions to align the company's value creation in line with the requirements of CO₂ neutrality and climate protection. In doing so, high standards are set both for the company's own processes and for materials procurement.

H2 Green Steel

CO₂ emissions are a central factor in climate change. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in steel production and processing. After all, global steel production accounts for around seven percent of worldwide CO₂ emissions. As a result, demand for "green" steel is also on the rise.

The BILSTEIN GROUP has been involved in technical approaches to reduce CO₂ consumption in its manufacturing process for some time now and has already achieved clear successes in this area.

The BILSTEIN GROUP has entered into a strategic partnership with the newly established Swedish steel producer H2 Green Steel (H2GS) in order to be able to supply cold-rolled strip with a low carbon footprint in the near future. The supply of starting material with CO₂-neutral hot strip is the decisive factor and thus an elementary building block for this project.

Green energy for CO₂-neutral steel production

A key prerequisite for climate-neutral steel production is the use of renewable energies. One way of doing this is to switch from natural gas to hydrogen as a fuel. The biggest CO₂ emitters in steel production are the fuel gases needed in every step of the process to heat and process the material. Currently, BILSTEIN, like many other companies in the industry, relies mainly on natural gas to generate process heat.

Technically, however, it is also possible to operate the natural gas burners of the bell-type annealing systems with hydrogen with slight adaptations, thus replacing the CO₂-intensive natural gas with the CO₂-neutral medium. This is why the BILSTEIN GROUP is involved in the "Future RuH2r" project. Together with currently four other companies and three network operators from the Lenne Valley, an efficient hydrogen infrastructure is to be established.

Sustainability Report 2023 for the companies of the BILSTEIN GROUP

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