Swedish specialty steel producer SSAB has announced that it has received funding worth approximately €2 million for product and process development from the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (Tekes). The funding will be used to develop automotive steels and steels suitable for Arctic conditions.
Accordingly, Tekes is contributing to SSAB’s product development project, which is developing steels for use in the automotive industry and Arctic conditions, with this project receiving funding of around €1.26 million, while SSAB’s process development project has received funding of €400,000. The company’s works in Raahe and Hämeenlinna and tube mills in Finland are involved in the research projects.
The product development project aims to improve the usability, such as the toughness, formability and weldability, of certain high-strength steels, while the other project being partly funded by Tekes is focusing on developing production processes, which aims to increase recycling and reduce the land-filling of sludge originating in the blast furnace and converter processes, and to develop the manufacturing process of special products.