SSAB enters fossil-free steel collaboration with Amazon Web Services

SSAB has reached a collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) for deliveries of fossil-free steel. The collaboration includes pilot supplies of fossil-free steel, made with the unique HYBRIT® technology, for one of AWS’ three new data centers in Sweden. SSAB’s subsidiary Ruukki will supply roof and wall structures for the buildings.

AWS is currently building three new data centers in Mälardalen, Sweden. To minimize carbon emissions from the steel used, the company is mainly using steel made from recycled scrap, which has lower carbon emissions than steel made in blast furnaces. However, since scrap is a limited resource, AWS has also teamed up with SSAB and Ruukki to secure pilot deliveries of virgin steel made with the unique HYBRIT technology.

“We are thrilled to welcome AWS as a new partner. By choosing steel made with the HYBRIT technology, AWS shows it’s possible to reduce the carbon footprint of data center construction regardless of whether the steel is made from scrap or virgin iron ore,” says Thomas Hörnfeldt, VP of Sustainable Business at SSAB.

The HYBRIT technology has been developed by SSAB together with iron ore company LKAB and energy company Vattenfall to replace the carbon-intensive blast furnace-based production of virgin steel. Instead of coking coal, the HYBRIT technology uses hydrogen, produced with fossil-free electricity, to make sponge iron, which is then further processed into steel. This process emits water vapor instead of carbon dioxide and largely eliminates the CO2 emissions from the steelmaking process. The steel is made by SSAB and will be used in Ruukki sandwich panels covering part of the new AWS data center in Västerås.

“Reducing the embodied carbon associated with the construction of our data centers is a key priority for AWS as we work to achieve net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040. By partnering with innovative local companies like SSAB and Ruukki, we’re taking an important step to decarbonize the materials used in our data centers and set a new standard for sustainable infrastructure. We’re excited to be working with companies at the forefront of low-carbon virgin steel production,” says Kellen O’Connor, Managing Director Europe North at AWS.

Traditional steelmaking causes about 7% of global CO2 emissions, with both virgin and recycled steel production contributing to emissions. By changing the way steel is produced, SSAB wants to create an entirely fossil-free value chain with customers and partners.