Metalshub kick-starts a collaboration with LME to promote sustainably produced metals and extend product portfolio

In a world, where the value of materials will increasingly be defined by their environmental footprint, tracking of materials and their certificates of analysis (CoA) throughout the supply chain becomes paramount. To meet increasing documentation standards from end consumers, this tracking will need to be facilitated by digital processes. The Metalshub-LME collaboration marks the link between the pioneer of digital metals trading and transaction based price discovery and the world center for industrial metals trading with $11.5 trillion worth of business conducted in 2020.

LMEpassport, a centralised digital register that stores electronic Certificates of Analysis (CoAs) and sustainability credentials, represents the first infrastructural step to enhance the visibility of metals sustainability. Joint with the digital trading flow of the Metalshub platform, it brings the relevant sustainability information to the point of sale and empowers users to digitally track their material flows.

Dr. Frank Jackel, Co-Founder of Metalshub: “We share common values and a common vision for the future with the LME. To limit global warming and fight climate change, the metals industry needs to decarbonise fast. You never walk alone: Everyone in the metals supply chain must work together to achieve this ambitious goal. Our collaboration with the LME is a bold move to support the industry by providing the digital infrastructure for audit proof digital evidence of the CO2 footprint of a metal product.”

Robin Martin, LME Head of Market Development, commented: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Metalshub to develop and deliver digital supply chain services to our global industrial user base. Physical metals trading needs are increasingly being met with digital solutions, which offer benefits such as transparency, efficiency and easily evidenced compliance with procurement requirements. As the global centre for industrial metals futures trading, the LME is well-positioned to expand the Metalshub product base and develop its direct connectivity with the physical market.”

Product rollout

Metalshub has built a liquid metals trading ecosystem focused on raw materials consumed by the iron and steel industry. The cooperation with the LME launches the expansion of this scope towards all LME base metals and other metal products. The product pipeline will be developed jointly with industrial user groups whereas low carbon aluminium is expected to be made available in early 2022.

The strategic collaboration between Metalshub and the LME is based on a long-term contract between the two parties and does not involve any equity ties. Data privacy and security remains the highest priority for Metalshub as it enters into this collaboration remaining fully independent.

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About Metalshub

Metalshub is one of the pioneers of digital transformation in the metals industry. The software start-up was founded in 2016 in Düsseldorf by Dr. Sebastian Kreft and Dr. Frank Jackel with the mission to connect companies in the industry with a digital platform. Digital supply chains can help reduce costs and CO2 emissions. More than 1,200 companies are already using Metalshub, including more than 300 steel mills and foundries that have digitised their purchasing processes with Metalshub. Since the launch of the platform in 2017, more than 1 billion USD in trading volume was concluded through Metalshub.

About the London Metal Exchange

The London Metal Exchange is the world centre for industrial metals trading. Most of the world’s non-ferrous metals business is conducted on the LME totalling $11.6 trillion, 155 million lots and 3.5 billion tonnes in 2020.

The metals community uses the LME, an HKEX Group company, as a venue to transfer or take on price risk, as a physical market of last resort and as the provider of transparent global reference prices.