Sweden-based steelmaker SSAB has announced that it has delivered decarbonized steel for a solar park project being developed in Germany by Swedish power company Vattenfall, highlighting growing demand for lower-emission steel products in renewable energy infrastructure.
SSAB Zero™ will be used in the supporting structures on which the solar panels are mounted. In total, more than 9,000 steel profiles will be used, with a combined weight of 209 tonnes.
The project forms part of broader efforts across Europe to reduce embedded carbon emissions in energy and construction supply chains.
Decarbonized steel used in solar infrastructure
According to SSAB, the steel supplied for the project was produced using the company’s low-emission steelmaking technologies aimed at significantly reducing carbon emissions compared to conventional blast furnace production.
The material is being used in structures connected to Vattenfall’s solar park development in Germany, where sustainability and lifecycle emissions reduction are increasingly important procurement criteria.
“The electricity generated from this solar farm will help reduce Germany’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. But for us fossil freedom does not end with electricity generation - it starts right at the beginning of the supply chain. That is why we are pleased to take this pioneering step together with our partner SSAB, using low emission steel for the substructures. By leading the way as a company, we support the long-term societal goal of becoming fossil free,” Claus Wattendrup, head of Solar and Batteries at Vattenfall, said.