Schaeffler is the first automotive Tier 1 supplier customer of H2greensteel worldwide. The agreement is a long-term purchase agreement and will be supplied in steel strips. The steel purchased by Schaeffler does not use fossil fuels in the production process and can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 200,000 tons per year. The signing of this agreement is also an important step towards Schaeffler’s goal of a carbon neutral supply chain by 2040.
Andreas Schick, Chief Operating Officer of the Schaeffler Group, admits that steel procurement is of strategic importance to Schaeffler. The company uses a large amount of steel in its production, a key area for achieving decarbonization targets. This is already being achieved through suppliers’ low-carbon production processes. In addition, Schaeffler will make full use of the circular economy as an important factor.
Green steel production is characterized by high energy consumption and requires the use of sustainable energy sources. In addition, H2greensteel uses hydrogen from renewable energy sources instead of coking coal through a direct reduction process, which reduces CO2 emissions by 95% compared to previous production processes, making steel production near-zero CO2 emissions. Such technology has successfully gained the trust of Schaeffler, and H2greensteel became the first automotive Tier 1 supplier worldwide.
As an excellent supplier in the international automotive industry, Schaeffler has taken major measures in carbon neutralization in the supply chain to deepen sustainable development into the production link.