If you think sustainable steel production sounds like a contradiction in terms you probably have a point. Or, at least, you would have had – until Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB decided it was time for a change.
Steel is everywhere – from our buildings to our cars, our medical equipment, household appliances, railways, and bridges. Now, thanks to a new pioneering approach to sustainable steel production, SSAB is on track to make the delivery of quality steel with largely no carbon footprint a reality in 2026.
But why the rush, you may wonder? It turns out that, even with the most efficient traditional CO2 blast furnaces – and SSAB’s have some of the lowest global emissions – modern society cannot survive without steel. And quite frankly this isn’t great for the planet – at least not in its current form. For while steel itself is strong, durable and recyclable, the industry that produces it is one of the leading contributors to the climate crisis. At current levels accounting for, no less than, 7 percent of total CO2 emissions globally.
SSAB has long been a frontrunner when it comes to sustainability, which is why they have devised an ambitious plan to support a sustainable future by not only offering fossil-free steel to the market in 2026, but also largely eliminating CO2 emissions from its own operations in around 2030.
With partners LKAB and Vattenfall, SSAB has invented the world’s first fossil free steelmaking technology with largely no carbon footprint. Known as HYBRIT the project seeks to reduce Sweden’s CO2 emissions by 10 percent and Finland’s by 7 percent.
The days when sustainability was little more than an afterthought tagged onto the end of a CSR report are long gone. Time is running out for the planet and future-focused companies need to act now if they want to be part of the solution, not the problem.
SSAB’s high-strength steels already enable its customers to achieve significant CO2 savings by reducing emissions across the value chain. And SSAB’s fossil-free steel will, in the future, enable its customers to reduce these even further, safe in the knowledge their products are manufactured from premium material using only fossil free energy sources.
SSAB is revolutionizing steelmaking. By investing in fossil-free steel from SSAB you too can be part of the transition to a fossil free future. Companies that quickly implement sustainable solutions will achieve a strong competitive edge in the market.
On our journey towards a fossil-free future, we want to offer our customers steel that is made using fossil-free electricity before our fossil-free steel is available on the market in 2026. This is why SSAB
Zero™, our scrap-based steel with no carbon emissions, is available from 2023.
It’s time to discover more about the transition towards a fossil free society. That way, the next time someone asks if the steel industry really can contribute to a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world, you will have the confidence to spread the word and help drive the change to a better future.
The interest in “green steel” is increasing. But when no official definition exists, how do you know if you’re a victim of greenwashing?
Read about partnerships and future applications our partners are building in fossil-free steel. Together we are cutting CO2 emission, leading the way to a sustainable future.
Since 2021, SSAB has been supplying small quantities of fossil-free steel for prototypes and small batch production runs. It has been a huge success. Now SSAB is taking another big step towards reducing the steel industry’s carbon footprint. The new SSAB Zero™ steel is not only produced without fossil emissions in our own plants, it is also made from recycled steel. A sustainable offering, which is seeing strong demand from the market.
What are the technical challenges involved in fossil-free steel? Will there be fossil-free steel for all products? There was tremendous interest and a host of questions when we organized a webinar about fossil-free steel this spring. On September 30, we will therefore be hosting a new webinar, in which we will answer the most frequently asked questions and give you an in-depth look at our journey towards fossil-free steel. Don’t miss it!
SSAB is taking the lead in reducing the carbon footprint of the steel industry and is aiming to launch the world's first fossil-free steel by around 2026. But how does fossil-free steel production actually work? And what's the difference between green steel and fossil-free steel? Welcome to a fact-packed webinar to help you learn more about SSAB's fossil-free steel production.
Learn how SSAB's environmental product declarations, EPDs for short, work and how you can use them to see the environmental impact your product has throughout an entire life cycle. Plus, expand your knowledge on how the new steel processing technology HYBRIT produces fossil-free steel. Welcome to a fact-packed webinar with SSAB on the topic of sustainability.