Swedish SSAB withdraws from negotiations on green project in the US

Swedish steel company SSAB has pulled out of negotiations to finance the construction of a green steel plant in the United States, Bloomberg reports.

This comes amid President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse policies aimed at accelerating decarbonization.

In March 2024, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $6 billion in federal funding to subsidize 33 industrial projects in 20 states to reduce carbon emissions. This included initiatives in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, including metallurgy.

The program included a $500 million grant to SSAB AB for a zero-emission hydrogen-fueled steel project. It envisaged the construction of the world’s first commercial-scale plant using HYBRIT technology (fossil-free direct reduction of iron (DRI) technology with 100 percent hydrogen) in Perry County, Mississippi.

SSAB signed a letter of intent with Hy Stor Energy to supply green hydrogen and renewable electricity to the facility. The project also planned to expand SSAB’s steel production in Iowa to use the DRI.

According to a representative of the Swedish company in a letter to Bloomberg, although SSAB continues to develop technical development of decarbonization projects in the United States, including HYBRIT, the company is no longer in talks with the DOE’s Clean Energy Demonstration Office to enter into a cooperation agreement. The steelmaker declined to elaborate on the decision.

SSAB also noted that the company is focusing on technical exchanges with the Department of Energy and cooperation with other potential partners related to hydrogen, clean energy and equipment supply chains.

Last December, SSAB received SEK 1.45 billion (€126 million) in funding from the EU’s Just Transition Fund, which was established to support the environmental transformation of industry. The funding also includes national assistance from the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.