SALZGITTER Group awarded LESS classifications for various steel production routes and products

• Label prerequisites for green lead markets put in place – the regulatory framework must now follow promptly
• First classifications according to the industry-wide "Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS)" awarded to Group companies
• Production routes for beams and profiles, flat steel and heavy plate have been validated by TÜV Nord and verified by the LESS Association
• First CO₂-reduced SALCOS^® Group products are now available as LESS-classified

The steel industry is offering customers and political decision-makers a consistent classification system all the way through to steel produced with virtually zero emissions: The so-called "Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS)" is a comparative six-stage classification system. The system classifies steel manufacturing processes transparently into six classes depending on the given scrap content and CO₂ emissions. The respective end products are also assigned a CO₂ footprint, which can be determined according to various standards.
 
The first verifications have now been issued by LESS AISBL (Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif, a non-profit association under Belgian law). Among other things, the production routes of four Salzgitter Group companies have been classified: Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, Peiner Träger GmbH, Salzgitter Mannesmann Grobblech GmbH and Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH.
 
The LESS scale ranges from "E" through "Low Emissions" ("D" to "A") to the very challenging "Near Zero" category for steel produced with virtually zero emissions. LESS enables the transformation progress of the classified production route to be displayed in a transparent and measurable manner.
 
CO₂-reduced products from the Salzgitter Group are marketed under the SALCOS^® brand (SALCOS^® | Green Steel from the Salzgitter Group). An essential part of the product promise is that SALCOS^® products comply at least with classification C according to LESS. This promise has been confirmed externally with the classifications now available, whereby some SALCOS^® products with classifications A and B clearly exceed the minimum requirements.
 
The standard, which is accepted throughout the industry and by policy makers in Germany, was presented in the spring of 2024, and is managed by LESS AISBL, a non-profit association based in Brussels.
 
Marcus Lippe, Head of Technical Customer Service at Peiner Träger GmbH: "We are delighted to now be able to supply our customers with SALCOS^® Structural Steel products classified according to LESS and are particularly proud to even be offering products with an "A" classification."
 
The SALCOS^® products that are already available today are based on scrap-based crude steel from Peiner production. As from the first half of 2027, CO₂-reduced crude steel for SALCOS^® products will also be produced at the Salzgitter site. Here, the direct reduction process is at work to process ores using hydrogen-containing gases in combination with an electric arc furnace.
 
"With the very good classifications our SALCOS^® products have received, the Salzgitter Group is underlining its pioneering role in industrial transformation. We have done our homework. With the certifications now available, the steel industry has put down the foundations for the introduction of green lead markets. These are intended to help bring CO₂-reduced raw materials quickly and comprehensively to the various value chains. The political course for these lead markets must now be put in place with the same determination, in order to lead the transformation of the industry to success," emphasizes Gunnar Groebler, CEO of Salzgitter AG.