“Achieving positive results from different heating technologies represents an important milestone on the road to delivering the world’s very first fossil-free iron ore pellets and further on in the value chain for fossil-free steel,” said LKAB and its partners in SSAB’s HYBRIT initiative. 

“The world’s very first fossil-free iron ore pellets are within touching distance,” it said. 

The HYBRIT initiative, which brings together LKAB, SSAB and European energy producer Vattenfall, is attempting to create a fossil-free steel production chain. That chain includes fossil-free pellets and a steel production route that relies on hydrogen. 

As far as the fossil-free pellet goes, HYBRIT members said full-scale trials that use bio-oil are underway at a pilot plant at LKAB’s industrial site in Malmberget. 

“Using biofuel as a heat source for one of LKAB’s existing pellet plants will result in fossil carbon dioxide emissions for operations in Malmberget being cut by up to 40% during the trial period,” the initiative said. 

You can read more about the effort here.