Achieving Electricity 4.0

Schneider Electric creates sustainable enclosures with XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced steel

Following months of technical exchanges with ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric has started to use XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced steel for its new PanelSeT SFN floor-standing enclosures. The enclosures protect large electrical panels in industrial automation, power distribution, and electronic applications. The change to XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced steel will reduce the carbon footprint of the electrical closures by around 34-percent. To enhance the lifetime of the panels, the steel is coated with Magnelis^®, a metallic coating which offers high corrosion protection. This is vital for the durability of the enclosures which are often situated in tough operating environments.

Produced at ArcelorMittal’s site in Sestao (Spain), XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced steel is made using a very high proportion of recycled steel in an electric arc furnace (EAF). The combination of recycled steel and renewable electricity results in a product with CO₂ emissions that are close to 70-percent lower than the same product made via the conventional blast furnace route.

Pictured during a visit to ArcelorMittal Sestao (from left to right): Pedro Escudero (CEO ArcelorMittal Sestao), Thierry Coutant (Head of Sales Industry, ArcelorMittal), Henri Berthe (Universal Enclosure VP Schneider Electric) and Anastasiia Zvorykina (Product Development Engineer, ArcelorMittal) 

Listening to the customer

The partnership is the result of several months of technical collaboration between ArcelorMittal Steel Services Centre Europe and Schneider Electric. The goal was to find the right grade of steel – and the right coating – for the new product.

“We had a lot of meetings with Schneider to explain our XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced offer – including a visit to ArcelorMittal Sestao where the steel is produced,” says Thierry Coutant, Head of Sales Industry for ArcelorMittal Steel Services Centre Europe. “And we also listened closely to Schneider Electric to discover what they needed and what the future looks like for them. Together we discovered a solution which is a real success story for both companies.”

“At Schneider Electric, sustainability is at the core of our mission, driving us to innovate and create a more sustainable future,” says Rohan Kelkar, Schneider Electric’s Executive Vice-President of Power Products Division. “We call this Electricity 4.0, meaning the integration of digital technologies with electrification for sustainability. In this effort, we recognize the power of partnerships to make an even greater impact on our journey to net-zero.”

The change to XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced steel will reduce the carbon footprint of the electrical closures by around 34-percent.

Tough coating for a tough environment

ArcelorMittal’s XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced steel will be used by Schneider Electric to manufacture its new PanelSeT SFN floor-standing enclosures. The enclosures protect the large electrical panels used in industrial automation, power distribution, and electronic applications. As the enclosures are built to withstand tough operating environments, the XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced steel is coated with Magnelis^® which offers a high level of corrosion protection.

The panels will be produced at Schneider Electric’s new roll-forming workshop in Sarel (France). Parts are then assembled at Schneider’s Capellades factory near Barcelona (Spain). The low-carbon emissions steel is supplied by ArcelorMittal Steel Service Centre in Reims (France).

XCarb^® helps Schneider achieve sustainability goals

Schneider Electric has published a net-zero roadmap which has been validated by the Science-based Targets Initiative (SBTI). “We have committed to be ‘net-zero ready’ across our operations with an absolute carbon reduction target of 25-percent across the entire value chain by 2030,” notes Henri Berthe, Universal Enclosure VP at Schneider Electric. “We have also committed to increase the use of sustainable resources by at least half over the next three years. By using XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced steel from ArcelorMittal, our division will achieve a level of 70-percent in 2024.”

“We have seen rapidly increasingly demand for our XCarb^® recycled and renewably produced offer from Schneider Electric across Europe,” says Anastasiia Zvorykina, Product Development Engineer, ArcelorMittal Steel Services Centres. “The complex questions and requests we have received have inspired us to search for answers. For that, we received strong technical support from our Flat Products division to ensure our customers’ smooth transition to steel solutions with lower CO₂ emissions.”