World’s First Fossil-Free Steel Plant in Sweden

The unique pilot plant in Luleå is a first step in decarbonizing the steel industry, which today counts for 7% of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The First Fossil-Free Steel plant is a jointly owned company formed by the steel manufacturer SSAB, the mining company LKAB and the energy company Vattenfall. All three are based in northern Sweden with the mining, electricity production, and the iron-steel factory. HYBRIT aims at replacing coking coal, traditionally needed for ore-based steelmaking, with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. The result will be the world’s first fossil-free steelmaking technology, with virtually no carbon footprint. “We have the chance to revolutionize the entire steel industry and show that net-zero emissions is possible. We must seize this chance,” said Martin Lindqvist, CEO of SSAB. Following the pilot-plant, SSAB plans for market production by 2026, be full-scale fossil-free by 2045, and by that take advantage of the boost in the global green economy’s demand for climate-friendly products. HYBRIT’s goal is to reduce Sweden’s CO2 emission by 10% and Finland’s by 7%.