Dillinger and Saarstahl, both subsidiaries of SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar, welcome the introduction of the Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS).
The labeling system for low-CO2 steel initiated by the Steel Association and its member companies is based on the results of a stakeholder process carried out by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection.
LESS labeling system
The aim of the new LESS labeling system is to make both the current status of the transformation and the efforts made towards the production of climate-friendly steel visible and therefore marketable - and thus accelerate the transformation to climate neutrality.
“LESS is pursuing the same goal as us with the decarbonization of the steel industry. As the third largest steel manufacturer in Germany, we are making a significant contribution to this with PURE STEEL+ and our “Power4Steel” transformation project, with which Saarstahl and Dillinger want to only produce climate-neutral steel by 2045. The new, transparent labeling system can serve as a guideline and help us in the development and marketing of our 'green' steel products," explains Stefan Rauber, CEO of SHS - Stahl-Holding-Saar and CEO of Dillinger and Saarstahl, the meaning of LESS.
Green steel today
For the SHS Group, “green” steel is not just an idea for the future. Saarstahl Ascoval already produces highly CO2-reduced steel and Saarstahl Rail produces quality rails with highly CO2-reduced steel from Saarstahl Ascoval, making Saarstahl currently the only manufacturer of “green” rails in Europe.
From 2027/2028, SHS and its subsidiaries Dillinger, Saarstahl and ROGESA plan to produce up to 3.5 million tons of CO2-reduced steel annually under the PURE STEEL+ brand. By 2045, the entire production of up to 4.9 million crude steel in Saarland will be CO2-neutral.
Comparable routes
The new LESS standard also has the special feature that both routes of steel production are combined and compared: today these are the primary steel route via the blast furnace and in the future both via low-CO2 hydrogen-based production processes and the scrap-based secondary route via scrap-based electrical steel production. A lack of global scrap availability will continue to require the production of steel via the primary route on a large scale in the future.
The CO2 balance of all steels can now be compared fairly and transparently with LESS. The heart of LESS is the labeling system, which enables low-CO2 steel to be classified using a graduated classification scale.
