The Swedish company SSAB has succeeded in completely eliminating the use of fossil fuels in the production of steel, right from the iron mining operation. The firm expects production on an industrial scale by 2026.
If someone talks to you about cars and pollution, you probably think about vehicle emissions, and eventually to batteries, but rarely to the environmental impact of main materials such assteel. However, each stage in the production of cars has a ecological footprint. The Swedish firm SSAB account for construction automotive and many other greener industries thanks to the very first “fossil-free” steel.
This innovation is part of the Hybrit program, a collaboration between the companies SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall to create a more environmentally friendly production line. Usually, steel is created from ore from do, from lime and you coke (of carbone almost pure made from coal). To reduce the ecological impact, SSAB replaced coke withhydrogen green and uses ovens electric arc.
Production on an industrial scale in five years
The entire production chain has been designed to eliminate fossil fuels, since the furnaces as well as the hydrogen electrolysers work withrenewable energy. Even mining operations that supply the iron ore are affected. SSAB preferred to use the term “fossil fuel-free” rather than talking about “green” steel, a term that has no official definition.
Automaker Volvo, which aims to be climate neutral by 2050, has received the first shipment of the fossil-free steel. SSAB announced that it would start production on an industrial scale as early as 2026, and had previously announced that it would aim for completely fossil-free production by 2045.
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