Salzgitter and Volvo Cars have entered into a partnership in a circular economy project

German steel producer Salzgitter has entered into a partnership with Volvo Cars as part of the ScanLoop circular economy project. This was announced in a statement by the company.

Salzgitter already supplies high-quality flat steel to Volvo Cars’ body parts factory in southern Sweden and now collects significant amounts of scrap generated there and returns it directly to Salzgitter Flachstahl’s production facilities.

«The project, which has been named ScanLoop, is an example of executing on circular economy to deliver business and sustainability benefits. Steel and Aluminium off-cuts from the stamping process are separated into different material streams and segregated. Then they are tightly compressed into cubes to reduce volume during transport,» explained the steel manufacturer.

Instead of returning to Salzgitter empty, the train is filled with steel scrap, which is then remelted and recycled into high-quality steel grades. The material therefore remains in a “closed loop.” The first train with 25 scrap cars arrived at the Bedingen station last week.

Another key component of the concept is the consistent use of rail freight transport. The use of such logistics has significantly reduced emissions. The route between the locations is 700 km long and was covered in 1.5 days, with the locomotives using 100% carbon-neutral electricity for traction. ScanLoop is also an example of cooperation between various subsidiaries of the Salzgitter Group.

The two companies first announced the creation of the ScanLoop closed-loop scheme in 2025.

Last summer, Salzgitter and the British company Binding Solutions Ltd (BSL) signed a memorandum of cooperation to test innovative cold-agglomerated pellets (CAPs) in a blast furnace and direct reduction iron (DRI) plant. BSL’s technology has the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions in steel production.