Heavy-duty commercial vehicle and engineering specialist Volvo Group says it has revealed a world first vehicle made of fossil-free steel supplied from green steel specialist SSAB.
At a ‘green steel collaboration event’ today, the company also announced that more vehicles will follow in 2022 in what will be a series of concept vehicles and components using fossil-free steel from SSAB.
The vehicle (or machine), is a load carrier for use in mining and quarrying, and was unveiled at a green steel collaboration event in Gothenburg hosted by Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO Volvo Group.
EU commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, and the Swedish minister of enterprise and innovation, Ibrahim Baylan, joined the event together with Martin Lindqvist, CEO SSAB and other speakers.
“This initiative with SSAB sets the benchmark for a fossil-free future. Just as the nations of the world come together at COP26 to address climate change, so too must organizations and industries work in collaboration to develop innovative new solutions for a greenhouse gas emission free future. Volvo Group is committed to pioneering partnerships such as this with SSAB to develop attractive, safe and efficient new vehicles and machines that pave the way for a more sustainable transport and infrastructure system adopted for the future,” said Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO Volvo Group.
With a commitment to be climate-neutral and achieve net zero value chain greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, Volvo Group says it is on the path towards developing sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions of the future.
“Having the world´s first actual vehicle made using SSAB´s fossil-free steel is a true milestone. Our collaboration with Volvo Group shows that green transition is possible and brings results,” says Martin Lindqvist, President and CEO at SSAB. “Together, we will continue reducing climate impact all the way to the end customer while ensuring that our customers get high-quality steel. We look forward to continuing to work with Volvo Group in research and development to produce more fossil-free steel products.”
A move toward green steel is an important step for Volvo Group, as well as for the transport and infrastructure industries as a whole, particularly considering that around 70% of a truck’s weight comes from steel and cast iron, with the figure for Volvo machines even higher.
The first concept machine, produced at Volvo CE’s facility in Braås, is planned for smaller-scale series production in 2022 with mass production set to follow.