The images of the devastating floods in Belgium and Germany in 2021 are still fresh in our minds. With hundreds of deaths, these floods were one of the worst natural disasters in Europe, in terms of the number of victims, for many years. In Germany, the Ahr Valley was the hardest hit. The flood destroyed much of the infrastructure, including the rail bridge at Bad Münstereifel, which was completely destroyed by the flood and has disrupted rail traffic ever since. Two years on, the reconstruction is almost complete.

Lower carbon footprint with XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel

For the reconstruction of the bridge on the Erfttal railway, ArcelorMittal Distribution Solutions Germany supplied 50 tonnes of XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel.

Conscious of the need to reduce CO2 emissions to slow climate change, the client in charge of rebuilding the bridge decided to use ArcelorMittal's low carbon emissions steel for the rebuild. XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel is made using up to 100% scrap using only renewable electricity, leaving a significantly lower CO2 footprint (around 40 tonnes of CO2 were saved).

A total of eight HEA 900 sections in XCarb® recycled and renewably produced, with a total weight of 50 tonnes, were delivered for the bridge reconstruction. The profiles were heightened and then drilled with 810 holes. The finishing of the beams took place in the Steligence® fabrication centre in Luxembourg.

From December 2023, the Erfttal railway should be running again, thanks to ArcelorMittal steel.

Want to know more about XCarb® and ArcelorMittal's low carbon emissions steel?

Low carbon emissions steel products play a crucial role in a circular economy as the majority of emissions from construction projects come from the carbon footprint of the materials themselves. Through contracts like this one in the Ahr Valley, ArcelorMittal can realise its potential in collaboration with stakeholders and further develop towards carbon neutral steel.

The XCarb® initiative, launched by ArcelorMittal in March 2021, brings together all of ArcelorMittal's reduced-, low-, and zero-carbon products and steelmaking activities.

Scrap and renewable energy: the levers of low CO2 steel

To produce XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel, ArcelorMittal uses up to 100% scrap and renewable electricity coming from renewable sources, such as solar and wind power.

ArcelorMittal estimates that XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel has a carbon footprint as low as 0.3 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel product when the metallics are 100% scrap, which is certified by a published Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
ArcelorMittal

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Neubau Erftal-Bahnbrücke in Bad Münstereifel

ArcelorMittal has released an updated and debugged version of its Advance Bridge Expert software, a pre-design tool for composite bridges with hot rolled sections. The software was developed by Graitec with support from ArcelorMittal.

Advance Bridge Expert is dedicated to the pre-design of straight, skewed, and/or curved bridges for roads, railways, and pedestrians according to EN Eurocodes. Superstructures can be designed as filler beam, composite, or PreCoBeam construction. For railway bridges, the software allows for the dynamic pre-design of high-speed trains according to EN 1991-2.

We invite you to visit our Software page to download Advance Bridge Expert version 2024.

Click here to explore the Advance Bridge Expert tutorial videos!

Within the 15-day trial version of Advance Bridge Expert, limited to the use of economic rolled sections, you can request a full, free-of-charge licence for this software.

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Software

We are proud to announce that XCarb® recycled and renewably produced heavy plates are now backed by an independent third-party-accredited Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).

Heavy plates with a 65% lower carbon footprint

“With this EPD, steel users can formally assess the environmental profile of the products they use. This new EPD meets the EN 15804 European standard and showcases that our heavy plate guarantees a CO2 footprint that is around 65 per cent lower than the same product made via the conventional steelmaking route,” notes Denis Parein, Commercial head of heavy plate for ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products. “As well as meeting growing customer demand, it also addresses the legitimate concerns of local authorities and end users who want to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of projects related to the energy transition and construction.”

Using XCarb® recycled and renewably produced heavy plates brings many advantages

ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® recycled and renewably produced heavy plates are produced from slabs made in an electric arc furnace (EAF) using almost 100% scrap and 100% renewable electricity. ArcelorMittal is the first steelmaker in Europe that can offer such low-carbon emissions heavy plates with a unit weight of up to 18 tonnes.

Heavy plates have a wide range of applications in markets such as wind energy, shipbuilding, bridges and civil engineering, pressure vessels, and line pipe for the transportation of energy, such as hydrogen, oil, and gas. Using XCarb® recycled and renewably produced heavy plates in these applications enables ArcelorMittal’s customers to significantly reduce their Scope 3 (supply chain) emissions.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
ArcelorMittal
The International EPD® System

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