The first British building with XCarb® recycled and renewably produced rolled steel sections is a steel-framed warehouse
Barrett Steel is one of the UK’s largest steel stockholders. For their recent expansion project in Scunthorpe, UK, they selected XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel sections for their new 18,500m² distribution centre at Groveport.
An estimated 1,408t CO₂ saving
During the summer of 2022, 650 tonnes of XCarb® recycled and renewably produced sections were supplied to Barrett Steel from ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products mills in Luxembourg (Belval and Differdange) and Spain (Olaberria and Bergara).
XCarb® recycled and renewably produced sections are made in an electric arc furnace (EAF) charged with 100% recycled steel and powered using 100% renewable electricity coming from wind and solar sources and connected to the same grid as the ArcelorMittal plants. This combination gives XCarb® recycled and renewably produced sections a very low carbon footprint of 333 kg of CO2e per tonne of finished steel on an [A1-A3] basis, which is assured by a third party-certified Environmental Product Declaration.
The 650 tonnes of sections, used for the frame, have an embodied carbon of 216t CO₂e, which compared to blast furnace produced material offers an estimated saving of 1,408t CO₂e.
Guy Barrett, Group Purchasing Director says:
“Being able to deliver the project using a low embodied carbon structural steel frame, the first of its kind in the UK, not only demonstrates our commitment to our own net zero goals but also showcases a tangible solution to the questions being raised by clients and contractors in the industry.”
In addition to choosing ArcelorMittal’s steel because it has the lowest CO2e footprint on the market, the centre uses energy efficient LED luminaires and has also been designed for future installation of photovoltaic panels.
The new distribution hub has been designed to hold 20,000 tonnes of structural steel, which more than doubles the current capacity at the Groveport site.
About Barrett Steel
Long-established, Barrett Steel is a 6th generation family business that offers 100kt of steel stock with an extensive range of processing capabilities and a rapid delivery service using their own transport fleet and a network of service centres spanning the UK and Ireland. Barrett aims to be a net zero carbon business by 2035 and the construction of the Groveport facility in ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel highlights the Group’s commitment to the environment and its net zero carbon goals.
Barrett Steel and PD Ports staff at the new Groveport facility
The company’s new Groveport facility will soon be completed
Want to know more about XCarb™?
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).
