Theme V Recovery

Steel made from scrap has a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to ore-based steel, making scrap availability crucial—especially for producing not only low- but also high-quality “green steel.” Achieving this requires access to large volumes of high-grade scrap. Currently, recycling routes are limited and lack differentiation, which hinders the ability to maximize the quality of recovered materials. Improved information about scrap sources would enable more specialized recycling paths and reduce the unnecessary downgrading of scrap batches due to broad quality margins used by steel plants. Providing better quality data and the ability to upgrade scrap even after melting would lower the risks associated with scrap use. Within this context, Theme V aims to expand the range of scrap streams suitable for high-end steel, enhance transparency and traceability throughout the recycling chain, improve the separation of tramp elements during sorting, and give steel producers tools to boost quality even post-melting. It also seeks to establish dedicated recycling chains for ultra-high-quality scrap, avoiding contamination with lower-grade materials.