Material Flows in the Greater Region - Case Study Steel
The Greater Region is one of Europe’s most traditional and at the same time most innovative steel production locations. Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, the steel industry has played a central role in the economic development of the region and of Europe.
Today, the industry faces a dual challenge: on the one hand, global steel production is responsible for more than 7% of CO₂ emissions. On the other hand, steel is an indispensable material for a wide range of technical and industrial applications: in structural steel construction (buildings), infrastructure construction (bridges), in the construction of energy generation facilities (including wind, solar, and hydro power plants), as well as in vehicle and shipbuilding and even in the aerospace industry.
One major advantage of steel is that steel products can, in principle, be melted down and recycled into new steel material for new product applications as often as desired at the end of their service life. Nevertheless, various elements such as copper and sulfur that may be contained in scrap are very difficult to extract and also have adverse effects on the properties of steel. This limits the “unlimited” reuse of scrap, particularly in the production of high-quality steel.
Steel producers in the Greater Region
The complexity of logistical, materials science-related, as well as energy and financial challenges of transforming the steel industry toward a circular economy requires full integration of all data through consistent digitalization. An important first step is the recording of the various production sites and the steel volumes circulating in the Greater Region. Based on the geographical distribution, regional interdependencies can be identified, and further information can be collected regarding steel grades, semi-finished products, and the life cycle of end products.
Energy Transition in the Greater Region
The energy transition in the Greater Region is increasingly relying on renewable energy sources, particularly wind power. Wind turbines are made of a wide range of materials such as steel, concrete, copper, and rare metals, whose circularity is essential for a sustainable energy supply.
The map shows the locations of wind turbines in the Greater Region and illustrates the spatial distribution of the installations. By linking material and energy infrastructures, potential synergies between steel production, recycling flows, and the expansion of renewable energy can be identified.
Recording these installations is an important step toward better understanding and managing material flows, component life cycles, and the potential for regional recycling within the wind energy sector.