ArcelorMittal supplies green steel for Arteris highway work

Highway concessionaire Arteris formed a partnership with ArcelorMittal to use recycled steel rebar in place of conventional materials for widening works along the SP-255 highway in the state of São Paulo. The initiative involves a total investment of BRL 330.7 million, according to Arteris.

The pilot phase applies the material across 57 kilometers of roadway between Igaraçu do Tietê and Avaré, where teams are installing and redesigning turnaround loops. Completion of the project is scheduled for 2030.

The works use ArcelorMittal's 50 S XCarb rebar, commercially launched in Brazil in September 2022. The steelmaker manufactures the product in electric arc furnaces using 100% recycled metallic scrap and 100% certified renewable electricity. Antônio Pereira, product development manager for civil construction at ArcelorMittal Brasil, told Estadão that the rebar preserves identical structural performance, technical standards, and lifespan compared with conventional models.

ArcelorMittal estimates that replacing conventional rebar with this product on the SP-255 project will cut total greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 68%. Débora Della Nina, sustainability manager at Arteris, told Estadão that although the recycled product carries a higher acquisition cost than standard steel, Arteris will evaluate environmental, technical, operational, and financial results to assess incorporating the material permanently into future projects.

The product has also been deployed in other Brazilian initiatives, including the expansion of the Santo Amaro metro station in São Paulo, the Babilônia Centro wind complex, the Pequeno Príncipe Norte hospital complex, and the Edifício Jardim in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais.