Peab and SSAB in unique research project on fossil-free steel

The research results will support the development towards a climate-neutral construction industry in 2045. The project, which will last 18 months, is being carried out as part of the industry-unique partnership between the companies.

Today, the construction and real estate sector together account for about 20 percent of Sweden's domestic carbon dioxide emissions. In new construction, the manufacture of materials and products accounts for the largest share of the climate impact. Therefore, new materials and products with a low climate impact are required for the construction industry to achieve climate neutrality by 2045.

"It feels very exciting to start the research collaboration on fossil-free steel, which is a natural development of the good relationship Peab and SSAB already have. The hope is that our results will be an important piece of the puzzle for the entire construction industry's climate work in the future," says Anna Högberg, climate specialist at Peab.

At present, there is no quantification of the climate savings potential in the construction sector for fossil-free steel produced using the HYBRIT technology, both at project and national level.

"We have previously made rough calculations based on a typical office building that showed that 90 percent of the structural steel in a conventional steel frame can be replaced with fossil-free hydrogen-reduced steel. This is estimated to provide a climate reduction of more than 70 percent compared to conventional steel. It is very hopeful - so it will be exciting to see the results when we now calculate this in detail on a much larger scale," says Jonas Larsson, Environmental Manager at SSAB.

In 2021, Peab was the first construction company to partner with SSAB on fossil-free steel developed with HYBRIT technology. The partnership means that Peab secures access to the steel from 2026 and that the companies will jointly analyze future opportunities for how fossil-free steel can reduce the climate footprint of the construction industry.

SSAB is running the HYBRIT project together with LKAB and Vattenfall. HYBRIT's pilot plant for fossil-free steel production is in operation in Luleå. A demonstration plant will be built in Gällivare, to be completed and start production in 2026.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com