HYBRIT, a partnership between a mining firm, an electric utility, and a steel company, made the world's first delivery of clean steel to Volvo.
ByDharna Noor
https://gizmodo.com/behold-carbon-free- ... 9h0H7UQA74
This week, a Swedish firm announced it had delivered carbon-free steel to a customer—a world-first. It’s a huge step in the race to clean up one of the most carbon-intensive activities on Earth.
On Wednesday, HYBRIT, a partnership between steel company SSAB, state-owned mining firm LKAB, and state-owned utility Vattenfall, said it delivered the clean steel to Swedish automaker Volvo. This was just a test run, but the firm plans to ramp up production to commercial scale by 2026.
“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,” Martin Lindqvist, president and CEO of SSAB, said in a statement.
Making steel is notoriously difficult to decarbonize. The majority of production relies on coal as a raw material feedstock and also as a fuel. HYBRIT has been working to build out clean steel production since it was formed five years ago using renewable power to produce hydrogen and then combining it with iron ore to create a porous material called sponge iron. It began testing the process, which had only been proven at a laboratory scale, last year. This past June, the venture announced it had successfully used this process on a pilot scale. Volvo plans to experiment with the initial batch of green steel by making prototype vehicles and parts, according to the Guardian.