Amazon has agreed to purchase green hydrogen-based steel from SSAB for one of the three new data centres it is building in Mälardalen, Sweden.
SSAB produces fossil-free steel via its HYBRIT technology at its pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden. The process uses green hydrogen to make sponge iron, which is then further processed into steel, emitting only water.
SSAB’s subsidiary Ruukki will use the steel to make sandwich panels that will cover part of Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) new data centre in Västerås. To minimise carbon emissions, AWS will mainly use recycled steel for its new facilities.
Whilst it has not been stated how much green steel will be supplied, but H2 View understands that Ruukki’s sandwich panels will be delivered next year.
“Reducing the embodied carbon associated with the construction of our data centres is a key priority for AWS as we work to achieve Net Zero carbon across our operations by 2040,” explained Kellen O’Connor, Managing Director of Europe North at AWS.
Thomas Hörnfeldt, Vice-President of Sustainable Business at SSAB, added, “By choosing steel made with the HYBRIT technology, AWS shows it’s possible to reduce the carbon footprint of data centre construction regardless of whether the steel is made from scrap or virgin iron ore.”
SSAB’s plant in northern Sweden uses a 4.5MW electrolyser to support the production of direct reduced iron (DRI), which is then made into steel. In Luleå, SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall have been developing green hydrogen DRI technologies since 2016.
Last month (October), SSAB secured a €128m ($138.8m) grant to decarbonise its steel plant that is currently in operation in Luleå.
Read more:SSAB secures €128m boost to decarbonise Luleå steel plant with hydrogen
They will use the Swedish funding to install an electric arc furnace to produce DRI using green hydrogen. They aim to have a capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of green slabs per year from 2029.
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