Sweden's Journey to Producing 100% Fossil-Free Steel for Volvo & Beyond - CleanTechnica

The article from CleanTechnica highlights Sweden's pioneering efforts to produce 100% fossil-free steel, a critical advancement given steel production's significant contribution to global CO2 emissions—accounting for 7 to 8% worldwide. Steel is a foundational material in clean technologies, used extensively in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and electric motors. Volvo, through its automotive and heavy vehicle divisions, is actively sourcing this fossil-free steel, underscoring the industry's commitment to sustainability. The breakthrough stems from a collaboration among Swedish companies LKAB (mining), SSAB (steel production), and Vattenfall (energy). They developed the HYBRIT (HYdrogen BReakthrough Ironmaking Technology) process, which replaces traditional coal- or natural gas-based iron ore reduction with hydrogen gas produced using fossil-free electricity from Vattenfall’s hydroelectric plants. This hydrogen-based reduction emits only water vapor instead of CO2, significantly lowering the carbon footprint of steel production. The sponge iron produced through this