Alstom and global sustainable stainless steel manufacturer Outokumpuhave entered a partnership for supply of Circle Green® stainless steel with up to a 93% lower carbon footprint compared to the 2024 global industry average of 7 kg CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent) per kg—0.5 kilos of CO₂e per kg of stainless steel.
The first delivery of Outokumpu Circle Green® stainless steel is scheduled for 2026 and will be used for carbodies in the latest generation of Alstom Metropolis metro (rapid transit) trainsets. Metropolis is Alstom’s family of electric multiple units designed for high capacity infrastructure. Trainsets can be operated in various configurations varying between two and ten railcars, with an operator or driverless.
“The collaboration aligns with Alstom’s eco-design principles as well as our sustainable procurement strategy, which targets a 30% reduction in carbon emissions from purchased goods and services by 2030,” the company said. “It will enable us to integrate a higher steel scrap content rate in our products.”
“Our partnership is fully in line with the eco-design process we have applied for years for the design of our products and services,” said Alstom Sustainability and CSR Vice President Véronique Andriès. “Using stainless steel with lower carbon emissions compared to standard steel will contribute in our efforts to significantly reduce our CO₂ emissions.”
“Remaining competitive and accelerating the green transition is fundamental to future mobility,” said Outokumpu Advanced Materials Business Line President Rolf Schencking. “Stainless steel is a versatile industrial material for transportation to reduce emissions, playing a vital part for innovation and technological progress. Europe needs frontrunner companies throughout the value chain to drive the green transition forward. We are excited to take the next step with Alstom to support our customers’ decarbonization journey. The Circle Green contract with Alstom is volume-wise the biggest for us in the mobility sector and is will be used in a European metro project.”,
CO₂e is a metric used to standardize the warming impact of different greenhouse gases by expressing them in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide that would cause the same warming effect. It allows for a comparison of various greenhouse gases, like methane and oxides of nitrogen oxide, by converting them to a common unit based on their Global Warming Potential (GWP). Outokumpu’s CO₂e calculation 0.5 kilos of CO₂e per kg of stainless steel is based on data provided by CRU Group and Kobolde & Partners AB. For Alstom, Outokumpu Circle Green reached a reduction of up to a minimum 85% lower carbon footprint compared to the global industry average, “without compromising stainless steel’s superior product features,” Alstom noted.
Outokumpu’s operations in the Americas include a portfolio of austenitic and ferritic stainless steel grades from a melt shop and cold-rolling mill in Calvert, Ala., and a finishing mill in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The company says it is no. 2 in the U.S. and commands a 23% share of the USMCA (U.S., Mexico and Canada) market.
