ecoMetals Initiative 2027
How ‘green’ is the foundry and metalworking industry?
The ecoMetals campaign by Messe Düsseldorf paves the way for a sustainable future in the foundry and metalworking industry. It shines a spotlight on companies that invest in innovative, sustainable and economically competitive technologies. Become part of the network and benefit from this visibility – online and at the exhibition centre.
ecoMetals makes sustainability visible
Your platform as a sustainability pioneer
Are you planning to showcase new processes, materials or services that make a measurable contribution to sustainability? Then ecoMetals is the ideal platform to clearly communicate your progress and expertise. We’ll help make your innovations easy to find – for visitors on the exhibition grounds and for users of our digital platforms.
✓ Innovative positioning: Showcase your company as a pioneer in sustainability
✓ Increased on-site visibility: Our ecoMetals Trail guides interested visitors around the exhibition grounds straight to you
✓ Increased online reach: With the digital ecoMetals profile and as part of our online marketing, your participation will attract even more attention
✓ Networking with the community: Meet the trendsetters in sustainability: decision-makers, media representatives and experts in eco-friendly innovations
The thematic areas of ecoMetals
A roadmap to a sustainable future for the metals industry
Based on the three thematic areas Green Production Solutions 2.0, Energy and Carbon Management Solutions and Circular Solutions, ecoMetals demonstrates in a practical way how companies are using forward-looking technologies to transform their processes, reduce emissions and set new standards for a climate-friendly industry.
Real-world examples
Sustainability that makes a difference
ecoMetals illustrates how companies are already reducing emissions, conserving resources and closing loops: from energy-efficient processes right through to the circular use of materials.
BMW
The car manufacturer sources aluminium and steel produced using solar energy from low-carbon or climate-neutral production processes, establishes closed-loop systems for metals at its plants and increases the proportion of recycled raw materials. The company is the world’s first car manufacturer to use a newly developed burner technology for green hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas.
EWE
The energy supplier EWE is building one of Europe’s largest hydrogen production plants in Emden, using electrolysis systems from Siemens Energy. The plant is scheduled to come on stream in 2027 and will then supply around 26,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year for various applications. When used in the steel industry, for example, the hydrogen produced can save around 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
Thyssenkrupp nucera
Thyssenkrupp nucera is supplying water electrolysers for the production of green steel at Europe’s first large-scale green steelworks in Sweden.
Swiss Steel
Swiss Steel uses the TÜV-certified digital carbon management platform Viridis Carbon from the SMS group for precise, real-time analysis of its carbon footprint. This enables the steel producer to effectively track emissions and implement strategies to reduce them.
ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal is trialling the new plasma technology from the cleantech company D-CRBN at its steel site in Ghent, Belgium, in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). The innovation converts carbon dioxide (CO₂) into carbon monoxide, which can be used in steel and chemical production (CCU). The CO₂ comes from MHI’s capture plant and is extracted from blast furnace off-gases and exhaust gases from the hot rolling mill.
Trimet
Trimet aims to completely eliminate carbon from its aluminium production in future and is working on using inert metallic anodes for aluminium electrolysis.
ABP
Using high-performance induction furnaces from ABP as recycling units – ideally powered by 100 per cent renewable energy – metal scrap can be recycled in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner, including energy savings through heat recovery.
Primobius
Recycling lithium-ion batteries makes a crucial contribution to the sustainability of e-mobility. Innovative technology such as Primobius’s hydrometallurgical recycling plants enables valuable battery materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel and manganese to be recovered in an environmentally friendly and efficient manner.
Andritz
Electronic waste is a veritable goldmine of valuable secondary metal raw materials. Andritz’s hydrometallurgical plants enable the precious metal components contained in electronic waste to be recovered and prepared for the production of refined precious metal ingots. This enables cathodic (99.99%) copper to be recovered from electronic scrap.
Hydro
The aluminium company Hydro produces primary aluminium using renewable energy in the form of wind, solar and hydro power in an efficient production process and is also increasingly offering high-quality recycled products made from aluminium scrap.
Review and participants 2023
A sought-after highlight of the Bright World of Metals
The ecoMetals initiative was a sought-after highlight at GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST in 2023. Sustainable products, new processes and powerful innovations: exhibitors from all over the world took centre stage with clear messages and impressed visitors, the media and business partners alike.
