Swedish green steel venture HYBRIT (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) announced the world’s first customer delivery of steel produced with fossil-free technology that uses hydrogen instead of coal and coke.
The 24 mt delivery was made to Volvo AB, according to media reports. The steel was made from hydrogen-reduced iron at the HYBRIT pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden during a trial run before it begins full commercial production in 2026.
The delivery comes within two months of HYBRIT’s first test that produced H2 sponge iron at its Luleå plant and a month after it test-produced the first hydrogen-reduced iron steel. HYBRIT is owned by Swedish steelmaker SSAB Oxelösund, state-owned utility Vattenfall and miner LKAB.
According to Jan Moström, president and chief executive officer of LKAB the delivery is a crucial step in creating the fossil-free value chain, which has been the basis of setting up HYBRIT.
SSAB estimates that using the HYBRIT technology will enable Sweden to reduce its carbon emissions by 10pc and Finland’s by 7pc once it reaches industrial-scale production. Moreover, SSAB also plans to convert its Oxelösund output to electric arc furnace (EAF) based production by 2025.