Fossil-free steel production ready to scale up

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Click to watch the interview with Mikael Nordlander, Director Industry Partnerships at Vattenfall.

During the ChangeNow environmental and climate conference in Paris, in the end of April, innovation and new thinking took centre stage. With a focus on safety, competitiveness and climate, discussions centred on how industry can transition based on the solutions currently under development. 

The Swedish fossil free steel development project HYBRIT is a successful example of such a solution. In August 2020, HYBRIT's pilot plant in Luleå opened and has since then produced thousands of tonnes of fossil-free iron sponge. Steelmaker SSAB delivered the product to its first customers in 2021. Demand is high, and the first products have already been launched, such as an articulated hauler presented by the Volvo Group in the same year.

“Fossil-free steel produced with hydrogen is a reality and now it's ready to be scaled up. Sweden is the right place to be; this is where it will start,” says Mikael Nordlander, Director of Partnerships at Vattenfall.

Fossil-free steel produced using HYBRIT technology was highlighted at the ChangeNow conference in Paris and cited as an example of the progress made since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. 

Mikael Nordlander and SSAB's Martin Pei took part in a panel discussion.

Mikael Nordlander and SSAB's Martin Pei took part in panel discussions in front of a large audience at the Grand Palais on Thursday, 14 April.

“Sweden's comparative advantages in Europe are obvious. In recent years, Swedish electricity prices have been around 40 to 60 per cent lower than in continental Europe,” says Mikael Nordlander. “Swedish companies are not raising the issue of electricity prices to the same extent as many other increasingly stressed European companies. Instead, Swedish companies talk more about the importance of sticking to long-term climate goals, long-term investment conditions and investing in the expansion of the electricity grid. Europe's future competitiveness is clearly linked to a fossil-free transition, as unlike China and the US, we are dependent on importing fossil energy, which leads to higher costs and reduced competitiveness.” 

A recent analysis by Vattenfall shows that the path to stronger competitiveness in the EU lies in the transition to fossil-free energy. Europe cannot compete in a fossil-based economy and climate targets must therefore remain in place to create predictability for the investments that will be necessary. Industry must have confidence that demand will be there in order to dare to invest.

“Paradoxically, one of Vattenfall's biggest challenges right now is the large surplus of fossil-free electricity in northern Sweden. But at the same time, this means that the conditions for electrification of industry in the region are very good,” says Mikael Nordlander.

Read more about the technology development company HYBRIT, which is jointly owned by Vattenfall, SSAB and LKAB.