SSAB has secured EUR 2.3 bln (USD 2.62 bln) in green financing to support the construction of a state-of-the-art fossil-free mini-mill in Lulea, Sweden, the company announced.
The project is central to SSAB’s strategy to reposition its European operations as a producer of premium steel, reduce production costs, and significantly cut CO2 emissions.
The financing package is backed by the Swedish National Debt Office (Riksgalden), the Italian Export Credit Agency (SACE), and the Nordic Investment Bank. Credit Agricole CIB structured the transaction.
The EUR 4.5 bln (USD 5.12 bln) investment was approved in 2024 and includes three long-term green loan facilities tailored to support the project’s full lifecycle.
The new plant will have an annual capacity of 2.5 mln tons and feature two electric arc furnaces, advanced ladle metallurgy, and an integrated rolling mill. It will also include a cold rolling complex, continuous annealing, and galvanizing facilities.
In addition to lower production costs and shorter lead times, the mill will enable greater flexibility in raw material use, including fossil-free sponge iron, pig iron, and scrap.
Once the new mini-mill is operational, SSAB will shut down its existing blast furnace-based production in Lulea, eliminating nearly all CO2 emissions from the current setup, equivalent to about 7pct of Sweden’s total emissions.
1 USD / 0.87 EUR