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Volvo Group introduces load carrier made from fossil-free steel

Volvo Group has developed the first vehicle made of fossil-free steel from heavy plate producer SSAB.

The truck was manufactured in Volvo Construction Equipment’s facility in Braås, Sweden. More vehicles will follow in 2022 in what will be a series of concept vehicles and components using fossil-free steel from SSAB, after which point the company will expand to mass production.

The machine, a load carrier for use in mining and quarrying, was unveiled at a green steel collaboration event on Oct. 13 in Gothenburg, Sweden hosted by Melker Jernberg, president of Volvo CE, and Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO Volvo Group.

Thierry Breton, EU commissioner for internal market, and Ibrahim Baylan, the Swedish minister of enterprise and innovation, joined the event together with Martin Lindqvist, CEO SSAB and other speakers.

“Our ambition is to have fossil-free steel used across all our products, with a step-by-step approach,” says Jernberg in a statement.

“This machine is proof that we really can make fast progress, when we work together in strong partnerships, when we are determined to act and we enable our skilled people to contribute to building the world we want to live in. Not only for our generation, but for generations to come.”

Volvo Group has committed to be climate-neutral and achieve net zero value chain greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. The company says the move toward green steel is an important step, as well as for the transport and infrastructure industries as a whole, particularly considering that around 70 per cent of a truck’s weight comes from steel and cast iron, with the figure for Volvo machines even higher.

“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,” says Lundstedt.

“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.”