Steel Mills

SSAB, Shape Join Forces on Automotive Fossil-Free Steel

June 21, 2022

SSAB and Shape Corp., have partnered to deliver fossil-free steel crash management and body structure systems to the US market, the steelmaker said.

SSAB The Grand Haven, Mich.-based tier-one automotive supplier of lightweight body structures, will be testing SSAB’s HYBRIT steel – made from hydrogen-reduced sponge iron – for use in automotive applications.

“We are excited to welcome Shape as our first partner for fossil-free steel in the US,” said Martin Lindqvist, SSAB’s president, and CEO.

Demand for fossil-free steel is increasing, he said, a driving force behind SSAB’s efforts to bring forward its “green transition”, focused on largely eliminating carbon dioxide emissions within the next decade.

“Shape continues to lead the industry with innovative, lightweight solutions for next-generation vehicles,” says Mark White, Shape’s president, and CEO. “I am extremely excited to partner with SSAB to commercialize their new fossil-free HYBRIT steel technology and to be first to market in crash management and body structure applications for our customers. We see this as a win for our customers, a win for the environment, and a win for Shape!”

Shape has pledged to reduce its global carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 and be fully carbon-free by 2035. White said that the partnership supports Shape’s sustainability goal.

Shape will also reduce end-user carbon emissions through lightweighting of the products it provides its customers, mitigating climate change effects, the company said.

Together with its green steel partners LKAB and Vattenfall, SSAB launched the HYBRIT initiative to develop a process that could virtually eliminate CO2 emissions in steel production by replacing coking coal – traditionally used for iron ore-based steelmaking – with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen.

SSAB is a Nordic and US-based steel company with mills in Sweden, Finland, and the US, and added facilities in 50 countries worldwide.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.