United States Steel Corporation will supply General Motors with its advanced and sustainable steel solution called verdeX steel. The steel is manufactured with up to 75% fewer emissions compared to traditional blast furnace production^[1], is made with up to 90% recycled content, and is endlessly recyclable without degradation.

verdeX production also uses less water, partly by capturing all storm water at the facility, utilizing it in production and returning it to the environment.

US Steel’s verdeX steel will be manufactured at Big River Steel, a LEED Certified facility that also meets the ResponsibleSteel Standard^[2] site certification, along with a new advanced technology mill under construction in Osceola, Ark. The steel produced at the Big River Steel facility will begin shipping to GM manufacturing facilities starting this year.

In January 2021, US Steel closed its acquisition of the remaining equity of Big River Steel for approximately $774 million from cash on hand. BRS is the only steel mill in North America to combine an electric arc furnace (EAF) with a Ruhrstahl Heraeus (RH) degasser for cleaner, more formable steels.

The 165-ton EAF has a tap-to-tap time of less than 38 minutes; the EAF can be direct charged with up to 100%$ scrap substitute material, HBI (hot briquetted iron), DRI (direct reduced iron), etc.

When complete, US Steel’s new $3-billion facility currently under construction in Osceola, Ark., will use advanced technology to expand production of sustainable advanced high-strength and electrical steels, including expanding the verdeX steel offering which will be widely available to manufacturers and can help lower their carbon footprint.

US Steel was the first American steelmaker to announce a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal by 2050 and the first North American steel company to join ResponsibleSteel, a global not-for-profit working to make steel more sustainable.

^[1] Based on comparing Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO₂e intensities for raw steel production at U. S. Steel integrated Blast Furnace - Basic Oxygen Furnace facilities and the Big River Steel Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) facility, as reported in the US Steel’s 2021 Sustainability Report.

^[2] The ResponsibleSteel Standard is based on 12 principles with a wide range of criteria covering topics such as: health and safety, greenhouse gas emissions, water stewardship and biodiversity, human rights, labor rights and community relations. It sets a global benchmark for leading practices in environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibility for steel production.