Decrease and development in Swedish steel industry
The report describes how steel consumption decreased in Europe, while it increased in India, China and the ASEAN countries in Southeast Asia.
The Swedish production of crude steel decreased by just over 3 percent compared to the previous year and ended up at 4.3 million tons.
At the same time, important steps have been taken in the transition of the iron and steel industry to fossil-free production. In 2023, Ovako inaugurated its new hydrogen plant and SSAB broke ground on an electric arc furnace in Oxelösund.
The electric arc furnace is part of SSAB’s transition where, in partnership with state-owned mining company LKAB and state-owned energy company Vattenfall, it is developing fossil-free production of sponge iron and steel at plants in Gällivare and Luleå. In Luleå, an electric arc furnace and rolling mill will be built in a so-called mini-mill.
Lennart Håkansson
