As it heads towards zero-carbon steel production, DB Cargo AG has taken a key stride towards green logistics with ArcelorMittal, the world's leading steel group. The logistics company is investing in multifunctional double wagons and special containers to bring incoming materials such as ore, coke and limestone to the Eisenhüttenstadt steelworks with even greater efficiency and less climate impact. The steelworks has also commissioned two new unloading facilities, which produce significantly less dust when incoming materials are delivered and handled.
Dr Sigrid Nikutta, Member of the DB Management Board for Freight Transport and CEO of DB Cargo, and Reiner Blaschek, CEO of ArcelorMittal Germany, today joined Germany's Federal Transport Minister Dr Volker Wissing and State Secretary Hendrik Fischer from the government of the state of Brandenburg to present the new logistics system.
Trimming carbon footprints with cutting-edge technology
DB Cargo and ArcelorMittal's cooperation brings green steel production and efficient transport logistics into a perfect symbiotic relationship. Partially automated unloading facilities with extraction units are in operation at the Eisenhüttenstadt steelworks. When combined with innovative double wagons, these systems can do a great deal to slim down the firm's carbon footprint.
Larger loads, faster shunting
The multifunctional double wagons from Austrian manufacturer Innofreight have easily removable special containers that can be transhipped at unloading terminals while producing next to no dust. They also allow each train to pack 20% more freight. Automating the unloading process yields tangible time savings by reducing the workload needed for shunting.
ArcelorMittal and DB Cargo draw on decades of cooperation
Dr Sigrid Nikutta attended the unveiling of the new logistics system at the Eisenhüttenstadt steelworks today. "Environmentally friendly rail is enabling the green transformation of the German and European economy," she said. "It is the basis for green supply chains and for reducing carbon emissions in production. DB Cargo is leveraging the new logistics concept to secure a steady supply of raw materials for one of Germany's largest steel sites between now and 2031, while supporting ArcelorMittal on its path to climate-neutral steel production."
The partnership is a good fit for DB Cargo, since the logistics partner shares the same goal of climate neutrality. It aims to become climate-neutral by 2040.
DB Cargo and ArcelorMittal's innovative project is making an already close partnership between the two companies even stronger. From the Eisenhüttenstadt works alone, DB Cargo transports an annual 700,000 tonnes of steel flat bars and steel coils by rail for industrial and automotive customers.
ArcelorMittal is planning further investments in Eisenhüttenstadt, such as building two electric arc furnaces to produce crude steel from recycled scrap and sponge iron made with green hydrogen. The sponge iron will first ride the rails to Eisenhüttenstadt's unloading facilities from a site ArcelorMittal plans to create in Bremen.
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