BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — With high commitment towards sustainability, SSAB and Volvo Trucks announced earlier this year on June 1 the delivery plan for the world’s first ever truck with fossil-free steel.
The green material is manufactured by Swedish steel company SSAB. The steel is made with a new technology based on hydrogen – a clean fuel made from renewables. The material is poised to complement the traditional and recycled steel used in Volvo’s trucks as the company joins the global movement to fight against climate change.
For the first version, SSAB fossil-free steel will be utilized to build the truck’s frame rails which form the backbone of the vehicle, holding all main components together. Upon further testing and prototyping, more fossil-free steel will be applied to other parts of the vehicles with greater availability of fossil-free steel supply.
Pioneering fossil-free steel since 2021
SSAB and Volvo Group have been in collaboration on fossil-free steel since 2021. It is also in that year that SSAB became the first steel manufacturer who successfully produced steel from sponge iron reduced by hydrogen gas and delivered the materials to Volvo Group.
Subsequently, Volvo Group made the first attempt to test and integrate the high-quality, environmentally friendly material into its production, manufacturing the first load carrier made of fossil-free steel.
The partnership was taken to a new level as SSAB and Volvo Group embarked on a more ambitious project to design and create a fossil-free steel truck, and the initiative was completed after just 9 months.
“This is a step change in the green transition, showing in practice that it is possible to build partnerships and create fossil-free value chains that will help mitigate climate change. I am happy and proud to collaborate with Volvo Group and NCC as forerunners in decarbonization. Together, we hope to inspire others, so that we strengthen the competitiveness of sustainable solutions and enable the objectives of the Paris agreement,” says Martin Lindqvist, CEO and President of SSAB.
For SSAB, the company intends to polish its current process and technology to make fossil-free steel, enabling it to offer the ground-breaking green material on an industrial scale to the market in 2026. This is one of the important steps toward achieving its own goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations in 2030 and empowering its customers to reduce their environmental footprints.
About SSAB
SSAB is a Nordic and US-based steel company. SSAB offers value added products and services developed in close cooperation with its customers to create a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world. SSAB has employees in over 50 countries and has production facilities in Sweden, Finland and the US. SSAB is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and has a secondary listing on Nasdaq Helsinki.
For more information, visit www.ssab.com. You can also join us on our official social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.
SOURCE SSAB
