Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Industrial  -  January 16, 2024

KIRCHHOFF Automotive to Deploy Green Steel

KIRCHHOFF Automotive, a global automotive supplier, signed a seven-year agreement for the delivery of near zero emissions steel from Boden.

The agreement was signed with Swedish company H2 Green Steel, as KIRCHHOFF Automotive takes additional steps to decarbonize its supply chain.

"The message from our customers is clear, they want to see products with lower CO2 footprint. This matches our ambitions to be in the forefront of sustainable development in the industry, as well as our legacy where sustainability has always been important. It's great to be able to work with a new player on the market and the team at H2 Green Steel have really pushed the steel industry to do more and move faster in terms of sustainability", says Michael Rank, Global Executive Vice President Procurement, KIRCHHOFF Automotive, in a statement.

The company’s supply chain consists mostly of procuring steel since it is the main component in its products, accounting for about 50% of its material purchases. 

KIRCHHOFF Automotive announced that 90% of its carbon footprint is currently determined by the use of conventionally produced steel and aluminum. 

The company says demand for safe and sustainable body-in-white parts will increase strongly in the coming years due to orders for upcoming generations of vehicles from international car manufacturers.

KIRCHHOFF Automotive will see deliveries of green steel from H2 Green Steel's Boden plant starting 2027 to its plants across Europe.

Since 2022, KIRCHHOFF Automotive began a process of determining the location of GHG emissions in their supply chain (Scope 3), both upstream at suppliers and downstream at customers. 

The two companies will also work together on a circularity initiative where the aim is to send at least 30% of the steel scrap volumes back to H2 Green Steel's electric arc furnaces in Boden for recycling.