Showa Denko joins Salzgitter’s SALCOS® low CO2 steel initiative

Showa Denko Carbon and the Salzgitter Group have forged a strategic supply partnership (SSP) for the delivery of ultra-high-powered (UHP) and ladle furnace (ΩMEGA) graphite electrodes.
 
Showa Denko Carbon acquired SGL Carbon’s electrode business in 2017 and has therefore delivered most of the UHP graphite electrodes for the electric arc furnaces (EAFs) since Peine’s mini mill was commissioned in 1996. With the reconfiguration of metallurgy in Salzgitter under the SALCOS^® - SAlzgitter Low CO₂Steelmaking program, the requirements for ultra-high powered graphite electrodes are set to increase. In addition, Showa Denko has developed ΩMEGA, a European manufactured ladle furnace electrode – a product that is often produced by off-shore suppliers.
 
The electrodes consumed by production are to be recycled in accordance with the “Salzgitter AG 2030” corporate strategy, and the two companies also intend to collaborate on the issue of reducing their carbon footprint.
 
Mako Takeda, CEO of Showa Denko Carbon: “Showa Denko Group has positioned the idea of sustainability as the basis of our Group’s management. The Strategic Supply Partnership with Salzgitter is a tangible example of how we can co-create with other industry leaders and generate social value through innovation and business.”
 
As Ulrich Grethe, head of the Steel Production Business Unit, commented: “Partnering for Circular Solutions is a cornerstone of our new ‘Salzgitter AG 2030’ corporate strategy. The agreement with Showa Denko Carbon has enabled us to guarantee the steps we need to take to realize SALCOS^® and is ensuring upfront that the production of low carbon steel via the new production route in Salzgitter can go ahead, starting with the end of 2025.”
 
The Salzgitter Group comprises more than 150 international subsidiaries and associated companies and employs a workforce over 24,000 employees worldwide. In the financial year 2021, they generated external sales around €10 billion, with a crude steel capacity of 7 million tons.