Swedish company unveils the world's first carbon free "Green steel"

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By Matthew Griffin Industrial Revolution 4th September 2021

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Industries like the steel industry are among the world’s most polluting, but new technologies and techniques are making it greener.

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The world’s first customer delivery of so called “Green Steel,” which was produced without using coal, took place in Sweden last week, according to its manufacturer. The Swedish venture Hybrit said it was delivering the steel to truck maker Volvo as a trial run before full commercial production in 2026. Volvo has said it will start production in 2021 of prototype vehicles and components from the green steel.

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Steel production using coal accounts for around 8% of all global greenhouse gas emissions so even though this announcement might be lost on most people it’s a very important milestone for what’s generally regarded as one of the world’s worst polluting industries. It’s also an industry that Bill Gates has been actively trying to “green” via significant multi-million dollar investments in companies like Heliogen whose Solar Oven technology, which, you guessed it, is powered by solar, can provide the enormous amounts of heat needed to smelt aluminium, concrete, and steel without the need for fossil fuels.

Hybrit originally started test operations at its pilot plant for green steel in Lulea, northern Sweden, a year ago, and they want to completely replace coking coal, which is traditionally needed for ore-based steel making, with renewable electricity and hydrogen – both of which play key roles in helping the EU reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

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Hybrit is owned by the steelmaker SSAB, state owned utility Vattenfall, and miner LKAB, with SSAB accounting for more than 10% of Sweden’s and 7% of Finland’s total carbon dioxide emissions, and the company said the trial delivery was an “important step towards a completely fossil-free value chain […] with the goal being to deliver fossil-free steel to the market and demonstrate the technology on an industrial scale as early as 2026.”

Not to be out done though another green steel venture, H2 Green Steel, is planning to build a fossil fuel-free steel plant in the north of Sweden, including a sustainable hydrogen facility, with production starting in 2024 …

Source: Volvo

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.