One of the biggest changes in steel production in over 1,000 years

HYBRIT stands for Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology. It’s a joint venture where fossil free steel is being produced using fossil free electricity and hydrogen with virtually no carbon footprint throughout the value chain from mining to steel production.

We launched the initiative in 2016 together with our partners LKAB and SSAB with the aim to develop a technology for fossil free sponge iron and steel-making.  

Our cities and societies are constructed with steel, but thanks to HYBRIT we’re now one step closer to helping our cities break free from fossil fuels.

A metal that can reduce global carbon emission by up to 7%

Steel is essential for all our lives, but steel production accounts for approximately 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Fossil free steel provides us with the real possibility of dramatically reducing those emissions and helping us achieve our goal of fossil freedom. 

It will also help us meet UN Sustainable Development Goals 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), 12 (Responsible consumption and production), 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and 17 (Partnerships).

Get to know fossil free hydrogen

To remove fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions from all parts of society, we need solutions like fossil free hydrogen. Fossil free hydrogen has the capability to power entire industries. It can also store and carry energy. And it’s a key part of the process of producing fossil free steel. It’s produced by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, a process that requires a lot of energy. If this energy comes from fossil free sources such as hydro, wind or solar power you end up with fossil free hydrogen. 
 
But that’s not all. Fossil free hydrogen emits oxygen instead of carbon dioxide when produced and water when used as a fuel in industrial processes. This means it has the potential to dramatically reduce carbon emissions in industries such as refining, petrochemicals, and fertilisers, as well as transportation and of course – steel.