Claims these are the world’s first automotive brake components and sealing materials produced with fossil-free steel.
07 Mar 2023 | 4288 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Steel major SSAB and Meneta Group, a leading global supplier of high-quality brake components and composite materials to the automotive industry, have announced development of fossil-free brake components and sealing materials.
Meneta has partnered SSAB to source fossil-free steel for its global production of components and sealing materials, mainly ...
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Steel major SSAB and Meneta Group, a leading global supplier of high-quality brake components and composite materials to the automotive industry, have announced development of fossil-free brake components and sealing materials.
Meneta has partnered SSAB to source fossil-free steel for its global production of components and sealing materials, mainly for the automotive industry. From 2026, Meneta expects initial Scope 3 CO2 reductions of 5,500 to 6,000 tonnes, growing to approximately 60,000 tonnes in subsequent years when its global brake component and sealing and decoupling material productions fully incorporate fossil-free steel from SSAB.
Steel remains the main component of most of Meneta’s products and one of its biggest challenges from a Scope 3 emissions reduction perspective. Meneta expects a very positive market reaction to its fossil-free steel shims, backplates, clips and sealing and decoupling materials, further strengthening their market position as they meet general industry and end-user demand for sustainable products and solutions.
“We are extremely happy to welcome Meneta, a forerunner within automotive brake components and sealing materials, as a partner for fossil-free steel products,” said Jan Meier, Sales Director in SSAB Europe. “Together, we will contribute to a fossil-free value chain for the automotive industry — and all the way to the end customer.”
“Being able to source sustainably manufactured steel for our global production sites, already from 2026, ties in perfectly with Meneta’s existing market-leading role and first-mover status,” said Meneta Group CEO, Kim Oestergaard. “Our goal is to be among the first suppliers in the automotive industry to offer components and materials with significantly reduced CO2 footprints to our global customers. Meneta will continue to help in shaping a new sustainability-driven future for the automotive industry - as well as other industries and sectors – as this, in our view, is the only sustainable business strategy and business plan to have.”
Banking on sustainability
SSAB and Meneta both share the view that cars should not only drive sustainably, but also be produced sustainably, with all components — including those produced with steel — being CO2 neutral. By Meneta piloting their fossil-free steel-based shim materials in Denmark, they lay the groundwork for expanding their use in their international subsidiary companies in the US, China, Germany, Brazil, and India.
SSAB plans to revolutionise the entire steelmaking process. The aim is to deliver fossil-free steel to the market at a commercial scale during 2026, and to largely eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from their own operations in around 2030.
SSAB works with iron ore producer LKAB and energy company Vattenfall as part of the HYBRIT initiative to develop a value chain for fossil-free iron- and steel production, replacing the coking coal traditionally used for iron ore-based steelmaking with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. This process virtually eliminates carbon dioxide-emissions in steel production.
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