Back In August we saw the world's very
first "fossil-free" steel delivery make its way to Volvo in Sweden, marking a significant milestone in the shift toward renewable energy. Volvo has now fashioned this into a lorry that is both a load carrier for mining operations and beacon of greener vehicle construction, with production slated for next year.
The fossil-free steel that forms Volvo's new load carrier is made by Swedish outfit SSAB, and the production process involves a few key tweaks in the spirit of sustainability. The method uses hydrogen instead of coal and coke as a reductant, and the coal-fired blast furnace traditionally used in steel production is replaced with an electric variant running on renewable energy. The iron ore used comes from "fossil free" mining operations, according to Volvo. The result is a metal with exactly the same characteristics as standard steel, but produced without using fossil fuels. SSAB plans to begin producing its fossil-free steel at scale in 2026, while Volvo plans to have an entirely climate-neutral business by 2050, including its supply chain. As it stands, steel production accounts for 7 to 8 percent of global anthropogenic carbon emissions.
newatlas.com
