In a statement, Salzgitter said the certification confirms that it reduced CO₂ emissions more than 75% by producing slabs through the electric arc furnace route instead of the blast furnace-converter route. 

“We are the first European producer to obtain a conformity statement for green steel products. Many of our customers consider it important to take delivery of a real, physically reduced CO₂ product now rather than being satisfied with more or less theoretical CO₂ footprint projections,” said Ulrich Grethe, Salzgitter Flachstahl management board chairman. 

“Going forward, we will be consistently pursuing the path toward decarbonization with SALCOS (SAlzgitter Low CO₂ Steelmaking). This innovation project enables us to switch entirely from conventional steel production to hydrogen- and natural gas–based processes, which enables CO₂ to be lowered by up to 95%,” he said.