Swedish innovative green steel facility in is among the seven winners of a total of €1.1bn ($1.25bn) in grants from the EU’s Innovation Fund.
The Hybrit (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) pilot project in Sweden — a joint venture between utility Vattenfall, mining company LKAB and steel firm SSAB — has already made headlines around the world after producing the first ever fossil-fuel-free steel last year and delivering the first shipment of “green steel” to Volvo in August.
The innovative project uses hydrogen instead of coke to provide both the high-temperature heat and oxygen removal required to turn iron ore into pure iron, in a process known as reduction.
The multi-million-euro grant will go towards the large-scale Hybrit demonstration phase, which will produce about 1.2 million tonnes of crude steel annually — a quarter of Sweden’s yearly production. This phase includes a new facility for hydrogen-based direct reduction, 500MW of electrolysers and two new electric-arc furnaces to melt scrap steel.
The project will thus lead the way to a full energy transition of the ore-based steel production as access to renewable energy increases.