(14/09/2021) 


This initiative, known as "Birbalas" and promoted by a consortium of companies including Sidenor, Elinfe, Saitec and Comsa, is being carried out on a section of the ETS railway network that passes through the municipality of Derio. The initiative consists of developing and validating railway ballast and sub-ballast products from recycled steel aggregate from electric arc furnace steelworks to give a new lease of life to this industry's waste, which amounts to 400,000 tonnes per year in the Basque Country.

Birbalas will examine the technical and market feasibility of using this product in the railway sector considering its sustainable and environmental specifications, which will promote the intelligent management of preventive maintenance of the ballast, as well as the generation of new materials to replace traditional ballast. Steel aggregate is a by-product of the steelmaking process in electric arc furnace steelworks.