Dr. Nadine Artelt studied materials science at Saarland University and EEIGM Nancy, graduating with a German-French double degree. After completing a PhD at Saarland University, she began her career at Stahl-Holding-Saar. Following various positions within the group, she moved to Saarstahl Rail in 2022 and currently serves as Managing Director of both Saarstahl Rail and Saarstahl Ascoval. As CEO of Saarstahl Rail, she is committed to driving the company’s growth and innovation in rail infrastructure. With a strong background in the steel industry, her focus is on sustainability, delivering high-quality rail solutions, and expanding the company’s presence in key markets.
What success have you experienced in the last twelve months and how do you measure success?
SAARSTAHL Rail is now recognised for being the European leader in low CO2 emission Rail production. For the past few years, we have extended our market share in Low CO2 Rail supply across Europe. We are currently providing rails to major railways in Europe such as Infrabel (Belgium), SBB (Switzerland), OBB (Austria) and SNCF (France).
Our success is also based on a circular economy process that we have implemented over the past years. This process allows us to collect worn out rails from the networks and remelt those items into new first quality steel. This steel is later converted into new rails in our rolling mill located in the eastern part of France. T
his process has allowed us to save more than 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The Berlin Institute Supply Chain Management presented Saarstahl Rail with its prestigious Sustainability Championship Award last year. This shows that our products are the building block for an environmentally friendly mobility transition in the international rail sector
How passionate is Saarstahl Rail about sustainability in the rail sector, and how do you go about sourcing the materials for your products?
From the acquisition of SAARSTAHL ASCOVAL (Steel mill in North of France) and SAARSTAHL RAIL (Rail rolling mill), SAARSTAHL Group has been the first steel company in Europe to understand the importance of sustainability and reduction of CO2 emission among all steel producers in Europe.
What are some major projects related to sustainability you’re currently working on?
We have a clear strategy for constant industrial investments in our facilities in view of further reducing our CO2 impact in our French facilities. Our Group has also confirmed a major investment in Germany. With the transformation project Power4Steel, our German colleagues in Saarland are entering a new era of steel production: in future, they will produce steel by using a direct reduction plant at the Dillingen site and two electric arc furnaces at the Dillingen and Völklingen sites. With this new plant technology, the European Union’s Fit for 55 targets will be already achieved by 2030. And that makes us pioneers – not just in Germany, but throughout all of Europe.
The details – using the new technology, the German companies Saarstahl and Dillinger will produce 3.5 million tonnes of steel from 2028 on, saving 4.9 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. The aim of the Dillinger and Saarstahl transformation project is to produce low-CO2 steel by 2045 only. The group is investing 4.6 billion in this ambitious transformation project.
What do you think is the biggest challenge currently facing the rail industry?
Our activity is mainly based on governments’ capacities to invest in the railway network and to maintain these networks at the highest level of safety. The risk of budget limitations remains the major cause of stress in our industry where long terms investments require a long term vision.
The financial efforts that our companies need to engage are directly linked to national strategies for developing a sustainable and environment friendly model of mobility.
Having a vision of changing people’s mobility organisation is clearly a scope for our governments. In our role of responsible environment focused company, we must be ready to follow and sometimes anticipate those governments strategies.
Do you think the rail industry could be greener, and what is your organisation’s green strategy?
We believe there are always possibilities to go ‘greener’. In our organisation, we have implemented research and evaluations for the past five years to determine ways to improve our impact on environment. Reducing truck usage, improving energy efficiency, and recycling are methods that Saarstahl has implemented to continuously reduce its CO₂ emissions.
With the coming launch of Great British Railways, how do you anticipate your place within the supply chain changing?
We understand that the UK is about to go through a major change where sustainability and ecofriendly supply will play a major role. The products manufactured at SAARSTAHL RAIL rolling mill in Hayange have been used by Network Rail for many years and we are currently fully Product Approved to continue supplying rails to support the UK’s rail renewal and maintenance needs.
Network Rail already employs a rigorous approach to their procurement procedures, and we expect this to be carried forward into Great British Railways’ supply chain partnerships.
SAARSTAHL RAIL Low CO2 rails produced using Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) technology are just one example of where our technical expertise matches with GBR’s stated long-term strategy to ‘support environmental sustainability by delivering rail net-zero for both traction and infrastructure’ and we hope to develop our relationship further in future.
If you were in charge of the UK rail industry, where would you target investment and/or look for improvement?
Any industrial company needs to search for improvement of its processes and services. Moreover, at SAARSTAHL, we are constantly searching for new products, new applications or new steel grade that will help our customers to reduce their maintenance costs, to improve their track safety, to optimise the rail usage. Such improvements are already implemented and are giving full satisfaction, such as in the Channel Tunnel.
Saarstahl Rail recently signed a €1 billion contract with SNCF. How does this success reflect your position in the European rail market, and what opportunities do you see in the UK?
This contract award has been closely linked to the capacity of SAARSTAHL to propose a low CO2 steel and rail supply. This is a major step forward in the railway industry in Europe. Thanks to the partnership between SNCF and SAARSTAHL, a €1 billion (£830 million) contract came to life. We do see that several European railway networks are following the trend initiated by our partnership with SNCF. This is clearly a positive sign not only for all industrial companies investing in sustainability, but also for the impact on environment of this industry.
The rail industry is moving towards a more sustainable model. How is Saarstahl Rail contributing to decarbonisation, and what innovations are you bringing to address environmental challenges?
Our first model was to collect scrap steel in the market and convert that steel into first quality steel. Our rails, produced from scrap rails, are used every day on high speed networks running at more than 300 kph. We are now further developing this concept by offering this circular economy to any steel products related to Railway and mobility applications.
With the modernisation of the UK Rail, how does Saarstahl Rail position itself in this transformation, and how do you plan to strengthen your presence in the UK?
We understand that the UK will go through a deep modernisation of its railway network and SAARSTAHL is clearly ready to play an important role in this matter. Proposing a low CO2 rail, circular economy process, performing supply chain solution, and innovative technical options are already the base of SAARSTAHL’s strategy in the country.
The rail sector is undergoing major transformations with the adoption of new technologies. What are the most promising innovations Saarstahl Rail is currently working on?
As mentioned earlier, our first focus is the reduction of our impact on the environment. From our Group level to our steel and rail divisions in France, we are constantly searching for improvement in this field and the €4.6 billion (£3.8 billion) investment is a clear demonstration of our strategy. Of course, we are also developing solutions for reducing rail maintenance costs and increasing rail lifetime through innovations in steel chemistries and steel grades.
What are your plans to ensure Saarstahl Rail’s long-term success in an increasingly competitive market?
SAARSTAHL is now the European leader in low emission CO2 rail production and in circular economy related to railway applications. Our goal is to maintain and increase our advanced position compared to our major European competitors.
The major rail supply contracts our company has signed recently are clear demonstrations that European railway networks are supporting SAARSTAHL strategy and future position as a leader of rail production.
The rail industry is increasingly adopting eco-friendly materials. How does Saarstahl Rail integrate eco-design, and what initiatives have you implemented to reduce your production’s carbon footprint?
For the past few years, our strategy has been built around the concept of reducing our CO2 footprint through major alliances with rail end users such as SNCF, but also with the suppliers of steel production equipment which allows us now to be leading the low CO2 rail market in Europe. We understand our competitors are following our footpath but we are still evaluating more options to further reduce our low CO2 emissions.
SAARSTAHL RAIL
Saarstahl Rail, a European leader in low CO2 emission rail production, specialises in sustainable steel solutions for railway infrastructure. Operating from facilities in France and Germany, the company has pioneered a circular economy approach to rail production, collecting and remelting worn rails to create new, first-quality steel products
Want to know more about Saarstahl Rail?
Tel: +33 3 82 57 45 00 Email: contact@saarstahl-rail.fr Visit: www.saarstahl-rail.fr
