SSAB raises €2.3 billion in green financing for Luleå plant

Swedish steel company SAAB has announced that it has secured €2.3 billion in green financing for a project to build a modern fossil fuel-free mini-plant in Luleå.

The financing package is covered by the Swedish National Debt Management Agency (Riksgälden), the Italian Export Credit Agency (SACE) and the Nordic Investment Bank. The deal was structured by Crédit Agricole CIB.

“The transformation project is key for SSAB to regain SSAB Europe’s position as a premium manufacturer, reduce production costs and reduce CO2 emissions from its operations,” the company said in a statement.

The company has decided to invest €4.5 billion in a new steel plant in Luleå during 2024. SSAB has already signed three green loan agreements, all of which have long-term maturity structured to support the full life cycle of the project. Crédit Agricole CIB is acting as global coordinator, structured bank and green loan coordinator for the financing package.

Once the new mini-plant is completed, SSAB will close its current blast furnace-based production system in Luleå. This will significantly reduce CO2 emissions from the existing facilities. The reduction corresponds to 7% of Sweden’s current carbon emissions.

Last April, SSAB decided to build an environmentally friendly mini-mill in Luleå, Sweden. The capacity of the future production facility is estimated at 2.5 million tons of steel per year. The plant will be equipped with two electric arc furnaces, a modern finishing system, a hot rolling mill for the production of SSAB’s specialty products, and a cold rolling mill to serve automakers.

As GMK Center reported earlier, SAAB increased its rolled steel production by 6.3% year-on-year – to 1.778 million tons in January-March 2025. The figure was up 9.1% quarter-on-quarter. Steel production by the company’s enterprises increased by 0.3% y/y and 4.3% q/q – to 1.946 million tons in the period.