We are a recycling company
The production of stainless steel is one of the oldest recycling technologies by reusing scrap without consuming fresh ore and coal/coke. To produce steel, 90% scrap and 10% alloying elements are used. Consumables such as refractories, electrodes, electricity and gas are also used. The scrap as a feedstock is 100% recyclable.
Breitenfeld thus makes a significant contribution to the circular economy and resource efficiency.
The future is electric - we already are. There are different routes for steel production. We only use the electric steel process (melting using an electric arc furnace). Compared to the blast furnace route, production in the electric arc furnace is more flexible, more specialized and more environmentally friendly.
The electric arc furnace can be selectively ramped up or down depending on capacity utilization.
CO2 emissions from crude steel production in the electric arc furnace are 90% lower than in integrated steelworks that operate blast furnaces.
The average emissions of the EU steel industry per ton of steel produced are almost 2.0 tons ofCO2, taking into account direct emissions (Scope 1). Scope 1 across all production plants of Breitenfeld Edelstahl AG is 0.140 tCO2/t steel, i.e. around 1/10 of the European average.
CO2 emissions can be further reduced by using green electricity. We are working specifically on projects to use green electricity.
The basis for steel production at Breitenfeld is scrap. The scrap collection system available in Austria is used to collect steel products that are no longer usable, and attention is also paid to short travel distances. This contributes to the avoidance of CO2 emissions during transportation through short transport routes, 75% of which are by rail.
Our products, which are made from 90% scrap, leave a small ecological footprint, as they can be 100% recycled and therefore help to conserve resources and reduce the burden on the environment.
Raw material management is key to Green Steel in terms of scrap procurement, scrap cleanliness and separation, as well as precise usage calculations.
Scrap is also fed back into the Breitenfeld scrap cycle directly by customers.
High-quality stainless steels significantly extend product life and enable greater energy efficiency in energy machines, engines and other end products. The next step after the end of the product's service life is to recycle the scrap and thus start the cycle of stainless steel production.
