Russian Steelmaker NLMK Joins K1-MET European Competence Centre
Russian steelmaker NLMK Group, a global steel company, a Metal-Expo regular exhibitor, has become an industrial partner with K1-MET, a leading European Competence Centre from Austria for the development of advanced metallurgical and environmental processes. In co-operation with the shareholders of K1-MET —voestalpine Stahl, Primetals Technologies Austria, Montanuniversität Leoben, and Johannes Kepler University Linz — NLMK is going to implement projects aimed at ensuring the efficient use and processing of recyclables in steelmaking operations.
Launched in January 2021, NLMK‘s first joint project with Voestalpine and K1-MET aims to develop a technology for processing zinc-containing waste. The new technology will make it possible to separate zinc from iron-containing materials, enabling NLMK to return thousands of tonnes of iron to the production cycle.
An important environmental impact of using this technology, claims NLMK, is the replacement of primary raw materials with secondary resources, which reduces the volume of accumulated waste and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Sergey Chebotarev, NLMK Group VP, energy and environment, said: “Co-operation with K1-MET is another step towards achieving NLMK's strategic sustainable development goals. Joint research with major European and international industry competence centres helps NLMK achieve significant progress in reducing its environmental footprint.”
K1-MET collaborates with global companies in the steel sector to address such issues as energy efficiency, circular economy, and climate impact reduction.
NLMK Group is the largest steelmaker in Russia and claims to be one of the most efficient in the world. It's steel products are used in various industries, from construction and machine building to the manufacturing of power-generation equipment and offshore wind turbines. The company operates production facilities in Russia, Europe and the United States, and its steel production capacity exceeds 17 million tonnes per year.
