Swedish steelmaker SSAB has achieved a significant milestone by delivering the world’s first fossil-free steel to Volvo Group.

This development stems from the HYBRIT initiative, a collaboration between SSAB, mining company LKAB, and energy firm Vattenfall, aiming to revolutionize steel production by eliminating fossil fuels from the process. The traditional method of using coking coal in steelmaking has been replaced with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen, resulting in a process that emits water vapor instead of carbon dioxide.

The HYBRIT pilot plant in Luleå, operational since 2020, has successfully produced over 5,000 tonnes of hydrogen-reduced sponge iron. This sponge iron serves as the primary input for fossil-free steel, which has been utilized by companies such as Volvo Group, Epiroc, and Peab in various applications, including vehicles, heavy machinery, and buildings.

In addition to steel production, HYBRIT has demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale storage of fossil-free hydrogen gas. A pilot project in Svartöberget, adjacent to the Luleå plant, has shown that storing hydrogen in steel-lined rock caverns is both technically possible and economically beneficial, potentially reducing hydrogen production costs by up to 40%.

The HYBRIT initiative, launched in 2016, aims to scale up production and deliver fossil-free steel on an industrial scale by 2026. This transition could significantly reduce Sweden’s total carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 10% and Finland’s by 7%.

The global steel industry, responsible for about 7-9% of greenhouse gas emissions, is under increasing pressure to decarbonize. Initiatives like HYBRIT, along with emerging technologies such as hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (DRI) and electrolytic processes, are paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production

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