Sweden moves closer to making fossil-fuel-free steel
A Swedish joint venture that hopes to rewrite the rules of steel production took a major step forward this week.
Hybrit, an initiative run by steelmaker SSAB AB, iron-ore producer LKAB and energy supplier Vattenfall AB, aims to remove fossil fuels from the steelmaking value chain by replacing coking coal with hydrogen and clean energy.
The project is now starting test operations for the production of fossil-free sponge iron -- something that SSAB’s CEO Martin Lindqvist sees as a “milestone” given the industry accounts for 7% of carbon dioxide emissions globally and 10% in Sweden, he said.
The Hybrit project aims to reduce CO2 emissions to 25 kilograms per metric ton of steel from about 1.6 tons by using hydrogen to produce direct reduced iron (DRI) as a feedstock, along with scrap, to make the metal. Electrolyzing water from renewable energy sources will generate the hydrogen.
Product launch in a “big, commercial scale” is planned for the first quarter of 2026 and will target “the automotive industry and others,” Lindqvist said in an interview.
A key component in the Hybrit process is the supply of fossil-free electricity, according to Vattenfall’s chief executive Magnus Hall.
Sweden already uses mostly hydro, wind and nuclear power to meet its electricity needs. In 2019, fossil fuel only had a 1.3% share of the country’s power generated, data compiled by Swedenergy show.
“We can use electricity as a source of innovation for a fossil-free future,” Hall said in emailed comments.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
ROSOND provides fast, efficient, safe, and cost-effective drilling and grouting services to mining and exploration industries throughout Africa.
VISIT SHOWROOM
AirNox (Pty) Ltd is a level 1 BBBEE manufacturer of complete AdBlue® solutions for operators of SCR diesel engines and AUS40 across South Africa...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
