In March 2024, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced a USD 6 billion fund to reduce carbon emissions.This fund was aimed at supporting projects in hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as metallurgy. With this funding, SSAB was planning to build a zero-emission hydrogen-powered steel plant using HYBRIT technology in Perry County, Mississippi, USA.
The Swedish steelmaker was competing for a prize of up to USD 500 million for its Mississippi plant. It would be the world's first commercial-scale fossil fuel-free steelmaking plant. SSAB's Mississippi project was expected to use Hybrid technology, which uses green hydrogen in the direct reduced iron (DRI) process to turn iron ore into briquettes to make ‘fossil-free steel’. Another company, Hy Stor Energy, was to supply 100% of that hydrogen, first by building gigawatts worth of renewable energy capacity in southern Mississippi, then by using electricity to split water into H2 and oxygen.However, the company's website is now reportedly down.
The Swedish steelmaker was competing for a prize of up to USD 500 million for its Mississippi plant. It would be the world's first commercial-scale fossil fuel-free steelmaking plant. SSAB's Mississippi project was expected to use Hybrid technology, which uses green hydrogen in the direct reduced iron (DRI) process to turn iron ore into briquettes to make ‘fossil-free steel’. Another company, Hy Stor Energy, was to supply 100% of that hydrogen, first by building gigawatts worth of renewable energy capacity in southern Mississippi, then by using electricity to split water into H2 and oxygen. However, the company's website is now reportedly down.
SSAB received SEK 1.45 billion (about EUR 126 million) from the EU's Just Transition Fund to support environmental transformation in December 2024. This was in combination with national aid from the Swedish Economic and Regional Growth Agency. SSAB, however, is no longer negotiating with DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to finalize the financing agreement “while continuing the technical development of decarbonization projects in the US, including Hybrid,” the company announced to a media organization.
SSAB has not provided a reason for its decision, but emphasized that the company will continue to focus on collaborations related to clean energy, hydrogen and equipment supply chains.
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