On Thursday, Gothenburg-headquartered automaker Volvo Group announced a new collaboration with Swedish steel producer Svenskt Stål AB (SSAB) for the research, development, serial production and commercialization of the world’s first automobiles to be made from fossil-free steel. In a company statement, Volvo said it plans this year to begin producing concept vehicles and components from SSAB using hydrogen.
“We are determined to be a climate-neutral company by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement,” said Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt, in announcing the partnership on Thursday. “This means that our vehicles and machines will be emission-free when in operation but also that we will review the materials, like steel, used in our products and will gradually switch to fossil-free alternatives here as well. This is an important step on the road to completely climate-neutral transports
“We are now taking a giant leap towards an entirely fossil-free value chain all the way to the end customer,” added SSAB CEO Martin Lindqvist, President and CEO at SSAB. Together with Volvo Group, we will start work on the development and serial production of fossil-free steel products. We will work together with our customers to reduce their climate impact while strengthening their competitiveness. We are constantly looking at how we can become a more comprehensive supplier of fossil-free steel to customers like Volvo. We see a new green revolution emerging,”
Volvo will start manufacturing the first concept vehicles and machines with SSAB’s hydrogen-based steel in 2021. Smaller-scale serial production will start in 2022 and gradually escalate toward mass production to follow. Volvo and SSAB will also cooperate in research and development for optimal use of steel in Volvo’s products with regard to weight and quality. Together, the two companies will develop a number of products of fossil-free steel with the goal of reaching serial production within a few years.
A fossil-free complement
SSAB’s new steel formulation, based on a completely new technology using fossil-free electricity and hydrogen, will be an important complement to the traditional and recycled steel already used in Volvo’s trucks, construction equipment and other products. The companies say the result will be a lighter climate impact and a fossil-free value chain. According to both Volvo and SSAB, the steel industry acknowledges that steel needs will grow significantly in the long term and that next-generation, fossil-free steel will be needed to meet this demand.
The collaboration framework also includes a review of common logistics solutions that can contribute to reducing SSAB’s environmental impact from internal and external transports. The ambition is to use Volvo vehicles that are powered by batteries or fuel cells.
SSAB expects to be able supply the market with fossil-free steel at commercial scale in 2026. Development of a fossil-free value chain from mine to finished steel products will take place within the framework of the HYBRIT initiative, which SSAB has led with Swedish state-owned iron ore miner LKAB (Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag) and multinational power company Vattenfall since 2016. A pilot plant has been in place since August 2020, where sponge iron made from hydrogen is being produced in small volumes. This input will be used to make steel for use in the Volvo collaboration.
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