Sweden’s HYBRIT delivers the world’s first fossil – free steel
STOCKHOLM, August 18 (Reuters) – The Swedish investment in green steel HYBRIT said on Wednesday that it had made the world’s first customer delivery of steel produced without using coal because it looks to revolutionize an industry that accounts for about 8% of global emissions of greenhouse gases.
HYBRIT, which is owned by SSAB (SSABa.ST), the state-owned company Vattenfall (VATN.UL) and the miner LKAB, said that they would deliver the steel to the truck manufacturer Volvo AB (VOLVb.ST) as a test drive before full commercial production in 2026.
“I am delighted to be Minister of Business and Energy in a country where industry is bubbling with energy for a (green) recovery,” said Ibrahim Baylan, Minister of Business, Industry and Innovation, at a news conference on Wednesday.
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HYBRIT started test operations at its pilot plant for fossil-free steel in Luleå, northern Sweden, a year ago.
It aims to replace coal, which is traditionally needed for ore-based steel production, with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. Hydrogen is an important part of the EU’s plan to reach net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
SSAB, which accounts for 10% of Sweden’s and 7% of Finland’s carbon dioxide emissions, said that the sample delivery was an “important step towards a completely fossil-free value chain”.
“The goal is to deliver fossil-free steel to the market and demonstrate the technology on an industrial scale as early as 2026,” it said in a statement.
Another investment in green steel, H2 Green Steel, plans to build a fossil fuel-free steel plant in northern Sweden, including a sustainable hydrogen plant, with production starting in 2024.
Volvo said in April that it would start manufacturing prototype vehicles and components from the green steel this year. Read more
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Reporting by Helena Söderpalm; Edited by Simon Johnson
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