Urban Mining in Construction: Reusing Hot Dip Galvanized Steel

The First Urban Mining Hub for Hot Dip Galvanized Steel

Urban mining in construction is creating new opportunities to recover and reuse valuable building components. ZICERO takes this approach further with the world’s first urban mining hub dedicated to hot dip galvanized steel.

Sustainability is often the subject of debate. Many recognise the need to reduce climate impacts, but willingness can falter when more sustainable choices require higher costs. This makes systems that conserve resources while also creating economic incentives increasingly important.

In the construction industry, urban mining hubs can provide part of the solution. These marketplaces for the recovery and reuse of construction components have grown in popularity in recent years, demonstrating the potential of the circular economy.

By providing access to a broad range of construction materials and components, urban mining hubs have helped make circular construction more accessible while demonstrating the variety of opportunities for reuse.

The next step is to bring together the specialist knowledge of the industries that manufacture, process and protect these materials. Successful reuse requires each material and component to be assessed according to its specific characteristics, condition and potential for further service.

Expertise for the Circular Economy

ZICERO GmbH has taken this next step. Since last year, the company has operated the world’s first urban mining hub specialising in hot dip galvanized steel, combining circular construction principles with specialist knowledge of the material and its corrosion protection system.

Hot dip galvanized steel is particularly well suited to circular construction. Its long service life means that, in many cases, steel components can be recovered at the end of one service cycle and reused directly without additional processing.

Galvanized steel components can withstand repeated assembly and disassembly, making them particularly suitable for modular construction, standardised building systems and structures designed for disassembly and reuse.

Even when the galvanized coating has reached the end of its protective service life after many years of exposure, steel components can be stripped and regalvanized, restoring the corrosion protection system and enabling the component to begin a further service cycle.

Compared with the production of an equivalent new component, this process can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 91%.

Determining whether components require regalvanizing or can be returned directly to use requires specialist technical knowledge.

This expertise is reflected in ZICERO’s in-house quality control process. Every component undergoes careful inspection and is only offered through the marketplace when it meets the required quality criteria and is free from defects that could compromise its suitability for reuse.

This material-specific expertise helps maximise the reuse potential of hot dip galvanized steel components while providing a reliable framework for both buyers and sellers.

An Award-Winning Solution

The pioneering approach behind the digital marketplace has also been recognised by the jury of the Hot Dip Galvanizing Sustainability Award. During the Hot Dip Galvanizing 2026 industry event, the start-up received the award at the Futurium in Berlin.

Currently, 11% of hot dip galvanized steel components are reused, while 88% are recycled. Recycling remains an essential part of the circular economy, but it requires energy to collect, process and remelt steel. Initiatives such as ZICERO can help shift material flows towards greater levels of direct reuse and refurbishment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while extending the service life of existing steel components.

At the same time, the platform demonstrates that lower-carbon solutions in the construction industry do not necessarily have to result in higher costs.

 

By combining material expertise, quality assurance and a dedicated marketplace for reusable hot dip galvanized steel components, ZICERO provides a practical model for keeping valuable construction products in circulation for longer. The initiative demonstrates how reuse, refurbishment and regalvanizing can complement established recycling systems and contribute to a more resource-efficient and future-ready construction industry.

Oliver Pickartz

ZICERO GmbH

ZICERO GmbH

Lukas Schramm

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