Swedish specialty steel producer SSAB has announced that its US subsidiary SSAB Americas, The Greenbrier Companies and Alter Trading have launched a circular economy initiative designed to demonstrate how recycled materials can be continuously reused in steel production. The project aims to create a closed-loop value chain in which recycled metals are transformed into near-zero emissions steel products and subsequently returned to the steelmaking process for future production cycles.
The initiative begins at SSAB’s operations in Iowa, where the company manufactures SSAB Zero™ steel using recycled metals and fossil-free energy. According to the company, SSAB Zero™ is associated with near-zero fossil carbon emissions and is produced without relying on carbon offset mechanisms. The steel product forms the foundation of the new circular economy partnership between the three companies.
Greenbrier to manufacture 50 railcars
As part of the project, Greenbrier will manufacture 50 gondola railcars using SSAB Zero™ steel. The railcars will then be supplied to Alter Trading, a company active in metals recycling and processing. Once deployed, the railcars will be used to transport recycled metals from Alter Trading’s operations back to SSAB’s steelmaking facilities, where the materials will be reintroduced into the production process.
According to the partners, the model is supported by documented production processes, established logistics networks and material traceability systems that allow recycled content to be tracked throughout the supply chain. The companies emphasized that the project is based on physical material flows and verified production methods rather than the use of carbon offsets.
