LKAB, SSAB and Vattenfall at UN climate conference
UN Secretary-General António Guterres invited the world to a Climate Action Summit on 23 September to present concrete, realistic plans to reduce greenhouse gases to net zero emissions by 2050.
SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall, the owners behind the HYBRIT initiative, participated in Climate Week NYC and the UN Climate Action Summit in New York to show first-hand that it is possible to achieve net zero emissions in the iron and steel industry and energy sector.
During the climate summit HYBRIT was highlighted as one of four of the world’s most ambitious and transformative examples of initiatives for tackling climate change.
At the same time the governments of Sweden and India launched the “Leadership Group for Industry Transition”, in which HYBRIT’s owners will be among the selected leaders. “A fossil-free steel industry has the potential to reduce the world’s total carbon emissions by seven percent. The transition is essential if we are to reach our shared climate goals,” says Jan Moström, President and CEO of LKAB.
Huge potential
In global terms the steel industry is enormously important for the development of society, but it also has an extensive impact. The implications of fossil-free steel production are huge, and at the same time this development will create opportunities for many other segments to become fossil-free.
“For LKAB, HYBRIT is an important part of creating a climate-neutral value chain from the rock to hot steel. This is a unique collaborative initiative – the academic world is also involved, and it is receiving financial support from the Swedish Energy Agency. Real change and new business opportunities demand collaboration,” says Jan Moström.
Sweden in a unique position
A specialised and innovative steel industry, a supply of fossil-free electricity and Europe’s highest quality iron ore put Sweden in a unique position to take on the challenge of process emissions in the steel industry. Sweden also has superlative R&D expertise at its universities and in the country’s metallurgical research institutions.
The aim is to have a solution for fossil-free steelmaking in place by 2035. If HYBRIT is successful, Sweden will be able to reduce its carbon emissions by 10 percent.
