SSAB announces that it will be granted 1.45 billion Swedish kroner in the framework of the EU’s Just Transition Fund. One use case of the fund in Sweden is the transition of the Norrbotten region’s steel industry.
The financing is intended to promote the transition of SSAB’s steel mill located in Luleå to fossil-free steel production, which will significantly reduce Sweden’s carbon dioxide emissions.
“Funding from the EU and the Swedish Economic and Regional Growth Agency (Tillväxtverket) enable us to continue the rapid transition to fossil-free steel production. It is also a clear signal from both the EU and Sweden about the significance of our change. It strengthens not only our own competitiveness but also the competitiveness of Sweden as a whole and means that we will continue to be able to supply our customers with the steel they want”, CEO of SSAB Johnny Sjöström says in the announcement.
SSAB will abandon its current coal and blast furnace-based production system in Luleja in favor of an integrated steel mill that utilizes electricity, for example by using an electric electric arc furnace. This will reduce Sweden’s carbon dioxide emissions by 7 percent, in addition to the 3 percent reduction of the previously decided investment in the Oxelösund factory.
Luleja’s new steel plant is planned to start up by the end of 2028 and reach full capacity in 2029. The conversion work at Oxelösund is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. The financing takes place largely from SSAB’s own cash flow.
The Just Transition Fund is an EU fund that focuses on industries and regions with high carbon dioxide emissions. The goal of the fund is to reduce emissions and meet the challenges brought by the transition. In the Swedish national program of the Just Transition Fund, the steel, metal and cement industries were identified as priority sectors. Norrbotten’s steel industry was named as one of the three objects to be financed.
On 21 October 2024, the EU Commission announced that it had accepted Sweden’s possibility to support SSAB through the just transition fund. Tillväxtverket, which manages the fund in Sweden, announced on 4 December 2024 that SSAB will be granted 1.45 billion kroner in EU funding and national co-financing.