Deutsche Bahn launches green steel pilot project with Saarstahl

(Berlin / Hayange, 05/11/2025) Deutsche Bahn (DB) is purchasing its first rails made from “green steel”. With this in mind, DB InfraGO has concluded a supply contract with Saarstahl Rail for around 1,000 tons of climate-friendly rails. The first delivery includes rails that will be installed in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. In all, the 1,000 tons of steel equal around 22 kilometers of rail.

With this cooperation, the two companies are establishing an important model for sustainable supply chains and the circular economy in the rail industry. Green steel from Saarstahl Rail is produced at the Saarstahl Ascoval plant in France. Instead of the traditional blast furnace route that uses iron ore and coal to produce steel, this plant uses electric arc furnace technology to produce new steel from old rails and scrap. Rails produced with electric arc furnaces cut CO2e emissions by up to 70 percent when compared to rails made with traditional blast furnaces. The amount of CO2e emitted to produce 1,000 tons of green steel is reduced by 1,800 tons.

Philipp Nagl, Chairman of the Management Board of DB InfraGO AG: “By using reduced-emission steel, we are significantly helping make our construction materials and procurement processes in rail infrastructure even more sustainable. Together with Saarstahl Rail, we are demonstrating in this pilot project that climate-friendly construction and domestic value creation can go hand in hand. We are also strengthening lead markets for reduced-emission building materials. As a result, we are creating an infrastructure that is sustainable and economically viable for the long term.”

Jonathan Weber, Chief Transformation Officer at Saarstahl and member of the Board of Management responsible for Saarstahl Rail: “When Deutsche Bahn uses low-carbon rails from Saarstahl Rail to expand its rail infrastructure, this sends a strong signal for sustainable construction. This shows the ‘green’ rail has established itself in the international rail sector as an important building block for the success of the mobility transition. That provides a model for using low-emission materials in other industries.”

Rail is already the most climate-friendly motorized mode of transport. Deutsche Bahn aims to become climate-neutral by 2040 and has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero across the entire value chain. In view of the most urgent challenges currently presented by climate change, DB is focusing its environmental transformation on five action areas: climate resilience, climate protection, resource conservation, environmental protection and noise abatement. DB will meanwhile be investing heavily in coming years in a reliable infrastructure. Since around 50 percent of Deutsche Bahn’s Scope 3 emissions – made up of indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the up- and downstream value chain – are already attributable to construction activities, DB is focusing on emission-reduced construction materials and testing the use of green steel and green concrete.

About Saarstahl Rail
Saarstahl Rail, a subsidiary of the Saarstahl Group based in Hayange, France, produces high-quality rail products based on CO2-reduced steel. As a result, it is successfully helping advance the ecological mobility transition. The history of the Hayange site dates back to 1892. The first rail was produced there in 1897. The site was integrated into the SHS/Saarstahl Group in 2021. The Saarstahl Rail product portfolio includes about 100 rail sections that can be supplied in 25 steel grades and in lengths of up to 108 m. Alternative lengths are also possible. The CO2-reduced steel is supplied by Saarstahl Ascoval, making Saarstahl Rail currently the only manufacturer of climate-friendly rails in Europe.
For more information: www.saarstahl-rail.com

About DB InfraGO
DB InfraGO AG is the rail infrastructure company of Deutsche Bahn AG that was formed to align its operations with the “common good”. With more than 68,000 employees, it is responsible for the approximately 33,400-kilometer-long rail network, including all essential facilities and 5,400 stations. DB InfraGO AG is divided into the Tracks and Stations divisions. The Tracks division is the largest railroad infrastructure provider in Europe with more than 1,100 million train-path kilometers traveled in Germany each year. In addition to developing, building and operating railroad stations, the Stations division combines a wide range of mobility-related services at railroad stations and is also one of Germany’s largest commercial rental companies.