Swedish specialty steel producer SSAB has announced that it has postponed the planned start-up of its Luleå mini mill project amid unexpected developments regarding the electricity transmission grid works.
Domestic electricity transmission system operator Svenska kraftnät is strengthening and expanding the transmission grid for the electricity supply to the Luleå mini mill. The company will also build a new station in Hällmyran in Luleå, to which electricity distributor Vattenfall Eldistribution will connect SSAB’s new steel mill. The existing main grid station in Svartbyn should be modernized to supply electricity Hällmyran. However, due to technical issues, Svenska kraftnät requires an extended construction period for the Svartbyn station and thereby delaying the commissioning of the Hällmyran station.
In light of these, Vattenfall stated that the expansion of the transmission grid for the new mill will not be completed as planned. Consequently, SSAB has decided to postpone the project for 12 months, pushing it back to late 2029. This will not affect the previously announced €4.5 billion investment.
