These are the findings of the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS, which carried out the study on behalf of the Federal Association of German Steel Recycling and Disposal Companies (BDSV): Where scrap metal is used instead of ore in steel production, emissions can be reduced and environmental damage, such as acidification of waters, avoided. In concrete terms, the use of one ton of recycled stainless steel scrap in stainless steel production could reduce CO2 emissions by 4.3 tons. Where one ton of scrap steel is used as raw material input in the production of carbon steel, as much CO2 is saved as a car gasoline engine in Germany emits on average over a distance of 9,000 km.

According to the Stahl-Zentrum (steel center) in Düsseldorf, the material is the “backbone of the German economy”. It places Germany as the largest steel producer in the EU and the seventh largest in the world, highlighting, among other things, the close links with numerous other industrial sectors such as automotive and mechanical engineering.