Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB has announced that it has produced the world’s first fossil-free steel. As part of a trial delivery, the steel was sent to its first customer, Swedish automaker Volvo Group.

The first-of-its-kind steel was developed through HYBRIT, an initiative formed in 2016 between SSAB and state-owned firms LKAB and Vattenfall, who specialize in energy and mining, respectively. Its aim was to develop a technology for fossil-free iron and steelmaking. 

The group was able to replace coking coal, the process traditionally used for steelmaking, with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. The result is a porous material called sponge iron, which is a combination of fossil-free hydrogen and iron ore. This past June, the team showcased the successful execution of this process at HYBRIT’s pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden. Volvo plans to experiment with the initial batch of steel through the production of prototype vehicles and parts. 

“The first fossil-free steel in the world is not only a breakthrough for SSAB, it represents proof that it’s possible to make the transition and significantly reduce the global carbon footprint of the steel industry,” says Martin Lindqvist, President and CEO of SSAB. “We hope that this will inspire others to also want to speed up the green transition.”

Going forward, the goal is to introduce fossil-free steel to the market on an industrial scale by 2026. According to SSAB, the use of HYBRIT technology “has the potential to reduce Sweden’s total carbon dioxide emissions by approximately ten per cent and Finland’s by approximately seven per cent.”

This innovation is a major step forward in the effort to make one of the most carbon-intensive activities on the plant greener. Steel is heavily relied on for the manufacture of a wide array of goods, and its production is extremely energy-intensive. 

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the iron and steel sector is responsible for 2.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, accounting for 7% of energy-related carbon emissions. In addition, the IEA notes that the steel sector is the largest industrial consumer of coal, which provides about 75% of its energy demand. The HYBRIT technology, thus, has the potential to reduce the reliance on coal for steel production, which could have a major impact on making the industrial process more sustainable. 

“By industrializing this technology in the future and making the transition to the production of sponge iron on an industrial scale, we will enable the steel industry to make the transition, says Jan Moström, President and CEO of LKAB. “This is the greatest thing we can do together for the climate.”