SSAB has been granted SEK 314 million ($33.3m) in funding by the Swedish Energy Agency through The Industrial Leap scheme for the electric arc furnace transformation of its Luleå plant, Kallanish notes.
SSAB is investing €4.5 billion ($5.2 billion) to transition from blast furnace-based steelmaking and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 90% at Luleå (see Kallanish passim).
The Industrial Leap funding applies to a project aimed at developing technical solutions for electrification and energy efficiency in the finishing processes for steel slab at Luleå – processes that are currently carried out using natural gas and propane.
“It is encouraging that the Swedish Energy Agency supports our transition. The Industrial Leap is an important tool for driving technological development and reducing the climate impact of industry,” says Carl Orrling, EVP, head of Technology and Transition Office, SSAB.
The project enables a future reduction in emissions equivalent to approximately 169,000 tonnes/year of CO2 equivalents, along with an energy saving of around 555 GWh. It includes detailed design of processes, grid connection, control systems and infrastructure, and will run from May 2025 to June 2026.
“In addition to the climate benefits, the investment in Luleå strengthens SSAB’s competitiveness through lower fixed costs, shorter lead times and increased production flexibility,” the steelmaker notes.
The new mill will have a capacity of 2.5 million t/y and will include EAFs, advanced secondary metallurgy, integrated hot rolling, and a cold rolling complex with galvanizing and annealing. Construction started in the summer, with commissioning pushed back by 12 months to end-2029 as reinforcements to the transmission grid could not be delivered as planned.
SSAB has previously been granted SEK 1.45 billion through the Just Transition Fund and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth to replace the blast furnace with an EAF up to the continuous casting stage. The new project focuses on finishing steps such as hot rolling, cold rolling and galvanizing – parts of the process that have not previously received public funding.
At SSAB’s Oxelösund plant, meanwhile, the EAF commissioning is now expected in early 2027 after its connection to the power line was pushed back to end-2026.
SSAB’s operating result amounted to SEK 1.869 billion ($198m) in Q3, an increase of SEK 621m compared to last year, mainly driven by stronger development at SSAB Americas.
Adam Smith Austria
