Deep in Sweden’s icy north sits a small factory where the country’s largest industrial players have been steadily validating a new technology that could clean up one of the dirtiest industries on Earth. Energy giant Vattenfall, steel-maker SSAB, and mining firm LKAB built the facility as part of the HYBRIT project, aiming to prove that steel can be made on an industrial scale using hydrogen and clean electricity.
Steel is one of the world’s most used materials, and its production is responsible for a significant portion of global CO2 emissions. Most of these emissions are produced when heating and reducing iron in a blast furnace using coal and coke. However, the HYBRIT technology doesn’t use a blast furnace at all. It uses hydrogen instead of coke in a process called direct reduction, reducing iron oxides to metallic iron without melting it.
The hydrogen reacts with the oxygen in iron ore, producing sponge iron. The only byproduct is water vapour. At the plant in Luleå, SSAB takes this sponge iron and then melts it into steel in an electric arc furnace powered by Vattenfall’s wind farms. The result is steel without the emissions.
Vattenfall, SSAB, and LKAB presented the results of their six-year trial to the Swedish Energy Agency. The report shows that the iron produced using hydrogen isn’t just carbon neutral, but is also stronger and more durable than iron produced with fossil fuels. The partners have applied for and received several patents based on the results.
HYBRIT’s pilot plant is the world’s first to prove the fossil-free value chain for steel on a semi-industrial scale. The factory has already produced a significant amount of hydrogen-reduced iron. Companies like Volvo, Epiroc, and Peab have already put the green steel in their cars, machinery, and buildings. The industrial giants will now start building a larger factory in Gällivare, in the heart of Swedish Lapland.
While there are significant hurdles ahead, such as generating sufficient quantities of green hydrogen and reducing costs, Sweden is leading the way in green steel production. The long-term plan is to build more hydrogen iron factories and completely decarbonize steel production in Sweden.
Sweden is taking a significant step towards reducing its carbon footprint with the development of green steel production using hydrogen technology. The HYBRIT project, a collaboration between energy giant Vattenfall, steel-maker SSAB, and mining firm LKAB, has been working on this initiative since 2020.
The traditional steel production process is one of the dirtiest industries on Earth, responsible for a significant amount of CO2 emissions. The HYBRIT technology uses hydrogen instead of coke in a process called direct reduction, reducing iron oxides to metallic iron without melting it. The only byproduct is water vapour.
The pilot plant has already produced 5,000 tonnes of hydrogen-reduced iron, and companies like Volvo, Epiroc, and Peab have already put the green steel in their cars, machinery, and buildings. While significant hurdles lie ahead, including the cost and availability of green hydrogen, the long-term plan is to build more hydrogen iron factories and completely decarbonise steel production in Sweden.