Inside Ovako's hydrogen-fuelled steel plant

Key to the manufacture of everything from wind turbines to electric vehicles, steel is a critical building block of the green revolution. However, its starring role in our low carbon future is somewhat undermined by the fact that the processes used to produce it account for a large chunk - around seven per cent - of global CO2 emissions. 

In response, steelmakers around the world are exploring a range of technologies and processes that could soon be used to replace existing carbon-intensive methods. 

One company leading the charge is Swedish firm Ovako, a trailblazer in sustainable steel production which is now poised to fire up the world’s first hydrogen-fueled steel mill at its facility in Hofors, a small town in central Sweden around 200km north of Stockholm.

Operating from nine production sites across Europe (primarily in Sweden) Ovako - a subsidiary of Japan’s Sanyo Special Steel since 2019 - makes a range of high-performance steel products for sectors including automotive, mining and energy.