Swedish energy company Vattenfall has placed an order for 120 tons of fossil-free steel from SSAB AB to construct a dam gate for its 603-MW Stornorrfors hydropower station, scheduled for installation in 2028. 

The steel will come from a pilot delivery using fossil-free sponge iron produced at the HYBRIT demonstration plant in Luleå, a joint venture between Vattenfall, SSAB, and LKAB that develops fossil-free steel production using renewable electricity and hydrogen. 

The dam gate will measure 21 meters wide and 11 meters high, making it the largest steel component ever manufactured with near-zero fossil carbon dioxide emissions from iron production. This gate replacement is part of planned maintenance at the hydropower facility. 

Vattenfall aims to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2040 while extending the operational life of its fossil-free hydropower infrastructure for another century.