Stegra

Introduction

The Stegra Innovation Fund project aims to build a greenfield integrated steel plant in Boden, northern Sweden, for the large-scale production of renewable hydrogen, green iron, and green steel. Production is expected to start in 2025.

Environmental Impact

The green steel produced will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33.4 million tonnes CO2 equivalent over the first ten years of operation, or by 87.3% (vs. relevant Emissions Trading System (ETS) benchmarks). The volume produced would equal 5% of the total flat steel production in the EU.

Production Process

Electrolysis will be an integrated part of the plant, using fossil-free electricity to produce the renewable hydrogen needed to bring 5 million tonnes of green high-quality steel to the market by 2030.

Direct Reduction Process

The direct reduction reactor refines iron ore into direct-reduced iron (DRI). This is done by exposing iron ore to hydrogen, which reacts with the oxygen in the ore, forming steam as a residual product.

Using renewable hydrogen for this process instead of coal, which is typically used in integrated steel plants, allows the project to reduce CO2 emissions from the reduction process by more than 95%.

Transportation and Melting

The majority of DRI is transported in its hot state inside the plant to the Electric Arc Furnace, while the rest is briquetted into hot briquetted iron (HBI) for storage and later use.

In the Electric Arc Furnace, fossil-free electricity will be used to heat a combination of DRI and steel scrap to a homogenous melt of liquid steel. Liquid steel is further refined via traditional ladle furnace and RH degasser and is turned into solid products in an integrated process called continuous casting and rolling. This process enables a reduction of the energy consumption by 70% and replaces the natural gas that is typically used in the traditional process.

Finishing Lines

Next, the product is further processed depending on customer requirements in our fully electrified downstream finishing lines, consisting of cold rolling, hot-dip galvanizing line, and batch annealing furnaces.

Alignment with Climate Goals

The Stegra Innovation Fund project aims to respond to the increased climate ambitions of the revised EU ETS Directive and contribute to the EU's overall climate ambitions. By contributing to the decarbonisation of the steel sector, the project is also perfectly aligned with the EU industrial strategy.

Local Benefits

Sweden has excellent conditions for this type of industrial project, due to:

1. Abundant renewable energy sources
2. A solid supply of raw materials
3. Highly skilled technical competencies
4. Ample land availability for large-scale projects

Stegra will generate up to 2,000 direct jobs in the region, and a total of 10,000 including indirect jobs. The project will also be part of a green industrial cluster in Northern Sweden, significantly contributing to a growing cluster of digital companies in the region.