German duo bands together to accelerate iron ore transport decarbonization

German dry bulk carrier owner and operator Oldendorff Carriers and compatriot Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, an arm of steel and technology company Salzgitter, have partnered up to advance decarbonization efforts in the sphere of iron ore transport.

Specifically, according to Oldendorff, the two players have entered into a long-term agreement to slash carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the maritime transport of iron ore as part of Salzgitter’s vision to decarbonize the steel supply chain.

As explained, commencing from January next year, Oldendorff is to move iron ore for Salzgitter from a number of loading ports to Hamburg using bulk carriers that have been equipped with technologies aimed at achieving better fuel efficiency.

With the ‘improvement’ of cargo flows as well as routing, officials from Oldendorff said that the partnership could cut down on carbon dioxide emissions by at least 20%, without incurring additional costs for Salzgitter. This could, in turn, enable the latter player to accomplish cost savings, too.

In terms of the emission reduction potential, the more precise estimates are that the collaboration could cut around 19,000 tonnes of CO2e, representing the lowering of Scope 1 emissions for Oldendorff and Scope 3 emissions for Salzgitter.

Speaking about the new development, Gunnar Groebler, who is Chairman of the Executive Board of Salzgitter, highlighted: “In our SALCOS® project, we are focusing not only on decarbonizing the internal production route for steelmaking, but also on related process steps along the entire value chain. Logistics – particularly seaborne raw material transport – plays a central role in this context.”

Henrik Christiansen, Executive Director and Head of Sustainability at Oldendorff, further remarked that leading maritime operations to net zero was “a complex challenge” that necessitates “coordination across the entire value chain.”

Because of this, Christiansen added that an industry partnership of this kind had the potential to clear the path toward “immediate progress” in lowering emissions and creating more sustainable transport solutions.

Salzgitter has been stepping up its efforts to curb CO2 emissions across its production lines, largely by closing material loops, optimizing energy use, and investing in ‘advanced’ technologies.

The company has, for instance, also shown interest in alternative fuels, particularly hydrogen; namely, in April last year, Salzgitter inked a pre-contract with compatriot Uniper for the supply and purchase of green hydrogen that covers, among other things, the technical and commercial framework conditions for its supply.

On the other hand, Oldendorff, which is currently believed to operate over 700 vessels (either owned or chartered), has increasingly set its sights on eco-friendly bulkers that are designed with fuel/energy efficiency in mind.

The maritime transport player has, in addition to the application of biofuels, also examined the potential of wind propulsion on its ships, as shown by the example of the 100,400 dwt bulker Oldendorff Chinook that was recently fitted with rotor sails engineered by Finland’s Norsepower Oy. The unit embarked on its inaugural voyage with the wind-assisted propulsion system (WAPS) equipped in November 2024.