UK rail project absorbs recycled-content steel

A high-speed passenger rail project in the United Kingdom has become a source of steady orders for a scrap-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in the U.K. operated by Spain-based Celsa Group.

According to London-based High Speed Two Ltd. (HS2), “Over the last two years, the U.K. steel industry has benefitted from a pipeline of orders worth over 170 million British pounds ($214 million) from HS2’s construction partners building the first phase of the high-speed railway linking London and the West Midlands” of England.

Singled out as a supplier by HS2 in a recent press release is the Celsa Steel UK EAF mill in Cardiff, Wales.

HS2 estimates it will need more than 1 million metric tons of rebar and structural steel during the two-decade duration of the construction project, not including another 200,000 metric tons of rail and related equipment plus another 15,000 metric tons for rolling stock.

“HS2’s vast demand for steel over the next 20 years, as we extend Britain’s new railway to Manchester and the East Midlands, is a lifeline for this vital U.K. industry and stimulates future growth potential,” says Ruth Todd, chief commercial officer of HS2.

Todd and other executives from HS2, as well as several regional politicians, recently were offered a tour of Celsa’s facilities in Cardiff.

“The recyclable and retraceable products they supply aligns to our commitment to cut carbon in construction, as we strive to ensure HS2 is one of the most environmentally responsible infrastructure projects ever delivered in the U.K.,” says Todd of Celsa’s recycled-content steel.

According to HS2, Celsa’s scrap-fed EAF technology releases 80 percent fewer carbon emissions than some basic oxygen furnace steelmaking processes would.

HS2 also says Celsa Steel UK “transports high volumes of its materials and products by rail, not road, for the bulk of their journeys, including the scrap metal collected from its scrap yards” in five British cities.

Comments Gabriella Nizam, head of sustainability and strategy at Celsa UK, “Our steel is produced in an electric arc furnace, with 98 percent of our raw material being U.K.-sourced scrap metal. Our commitment to circularity combined with our sustainable production process establishes us as a leader in environmentally friendly steel production in the U.K.”

In the past two years, HS2 estimates nearly 20,000 metric tons of Celsa recycled-content U.K.-made steel has been used, “and the orders keep coming,” says the rail firm.

“We are proud that U.K.-made steel is being used to build HS2,” remarks Gareth Stace, director general of Celsa UK Steel. “With the potential for two decades more orders, HS2’s investment in U.K. recycled steel should be emulated by many other major infrastructure projects.”

Regarding the overall scope of the rail project HS2 estimates that to date more than 3,000 U.K.-based businesses “have won work on HS2 and 23 billion pounds ($29 billion) has been contracted into the supply chain. A workforce of nearly 30,000 are in jobs supporting HS2’s vast construction program and thousands more are employed in offices and factories across the U.K. supplying the materials, products and services needed.”