HYBRID Demonstration Services

HYBRIT Demonstration will produce approximately 1.2 million tonnes of crude steel per year, which corresponds to 25% of Sweden`s total production. It has the potential to prevent 14.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the first ten-year period of production. [1]

A new plant for hydrogen production will be built in Gällivare, the first of its kind. The facility has approx. 500 MW electrolyser capacity, and is powered by fossil-free electricity. Using hydrogen makes it possible to convert iron ore into sponge iron. The project creates the conditions for SSAB to replace two blast furnaces in Oxelösund with an electric arc furnace, which uses sponge iron as raw material to produce high-quality steel without using coke in the reduction.

A solution to introduce fossil-free steel to the market

Currently, pig iron production in coal-based blast furnaces, together with steelmaking with oxygen gas converters, accounts for 95% of global steel production from iron ore. This manufacturing process is particularly suitable for producing high-quality and high-strength steel. But even the best possible blast furnace process results in carbon dioxide emissions of about 1.6 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of crude steel (the global average is about 2.2 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of crude steel). With HYBRIT technology, the traditional way of manufacturing iron and steel becomes obsolete.

The HYBRIT Demonstration project represents a breakthrough for fossil-free steel through the development of a completely new complete value chain, based on fossil-free hydrogen.

The project includes the new construction of a full-scale facility for the direct reduction of iron ore with 100% hydrogen gas, the first of its kind. The project also includes fossil-free production of hydrogen through water electrolysis in Gällivare (500 MW), where we use the good availability of wind and hydropower in the region`s electricity production.

In addition to this, the project involves phasing out steel production with oxygen converters, as the sponge iron is designed to be melted in an electric arc furnace. The electric arc furnace is a technology that is already established for scrap-based smelting and which will now be adapted for large proportions of hydrogen-reduced sponge iron and the production of complex steel grades.

An important contribution to minimizing carbon dioxide emissions from the iron and steel industry.

The HYBRIT Demonstration project will contribute to minimizing carbon dioxide emissions from a hard-to-change sector, the iron and steel industry, by using hydrogen produced from fossil-free electricity. The project will facilitate the transition from fossil-based production to a fossil-free one, with the goal of creating the conditions for SSAB to introduce fossil-free steel to the market as early as 2026. Fossil-free steel will be a key for downstream producers who can use fossil-free, climate-neutral and recyclable material.