SSAB, the Swedish steelmaker, is teaming up with Daimler (ETR:DAI)’s Mercedes-Benz unit to explore the possibility of using fossil fuel-free steel in the automobile production process.
SSAB has previously announced a similar collaboration with Swedish vehicles maker Volvo, which is trying out steel using SSAB’s hydrogen breakthrough ironmaking technology (HYBRIT), which substitutes hydrogen for fossil fuels in the steelmaking process.
SSAB, Swedish miner LKAB and state-owned Swedish utility company Vattenfall created HYBRIT in 2016, with the aim of developing a technology for fossil-free iron and steelmaking. In June 2021, the three companies were able to showcase the world’s first hydrogen-reduced sponge iron produced at HYBRIT’s pilot plant in Luleå. This first sponge iron has since been used to produce the first steel made with this breakthrough technology.
The goal of the Swedish consortium is to deliver fossil-free steel to the market and demonstrate the technology on an industrial scale as early as 2026.