Swedish steelmaker SSAB and British manufacturer Firth Steels said they have signed a long-term deal for the supply of SSAB’s virtually fossil-free steel, the world’s first commercially available product of its kind.

The partnership will see Firth Steels, a leading producer of steel profiles for walls and roofs, incorporate SSAB Zero – steel made with recycled materials and fossil-free electricity and biogas – into its new Protex Voyage line, a low-carbon building envelope solution.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have been selected by SSAB to embark on this great journey in reducing carbon emissions in all aspects of our steel process. As a UK-based roll-former of steel profiles, Scope 3 emissions represent the largest portion of our carbon footprint. By forming strategic partnerships with the world’s leading mills, we can significantly reduce these emissions and forge a sustainable future for our planet from the outset, not offset,” says James Firth, Managing Director, Firth Steels.

Scope 3 emissions refer to a company’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions from its value chain.

Williams ... key partnership agreement

The companies have a long-running collaboration and are now expanding their partnership to include SSAB’s fossil-free products.

“We are happy to add fossil-free steel to our collaboration with Firth Steels, which already uses our bio-based GreenCoat colour coated steel in their products. By cutting our own carbon emissions, we can help our customers reduce their indirect emissions from the materials they use – it’s a win-win,” says Dave Williams, Managing Director, SSAB Swedish Steel.

Traditional steel production represents a significant source of global CO2 emissions, with both virgin and recycled steel production contributing to emissions. By changing the way steel is produced, SSAB wants to cut emissions and create a fossil-free value chain with customers and partners regardless of whether the raw material is scrap or iron ore.

The company offers two near-zero emission steel products: SSAB Zero and SSAB Fossil-free.

SSAB fossil-free steel is produced using hydrogen derived from fossil-free electricity, replacing coal in the iron ore reduction process. This technology, called Hybrit, was jointly developed by SSAB, mining company LKAB and energy company Vattenfall. Pilot volumes of SSAB Fossil-free are currently available to select partners, with wider availability expected soon.

Firth Steels, in addition to its focus on Scope 3 emissions, also implements sustainability initiatives to reduce its operational footprint (Scope 1 and 2 emissions). These include on-site solar arrays and battery storage for off-grid electricity generation. The company is also certified by Planet Mark, a sustainability certification body.