Swedish specialty steel producer SSAB has announced that it has been granted green financing of €2.3 billion for its planned fossil-free mini-mill in Luleå. The financing has been co-provided by the Swedish National Debt Office (Riksgälden), the Italian Export Credit Agency (SACE) and the Nordic Investment Bank.
The €4.5 billion project, which was unveiled in 2024, will enable SSAB to decrease its production costs, to reduce its emissions from steelmaking operations and to shorten lead times. The new mill in Luleå with a production capacity of 2.5 million mt per year will feature two electric arc furnaces, an integrated rolling mill and a cold rolling complex, and will use a mix of fossil-free sponge iron produced with the company’s HYBRIT technology and recycled scrap.
In the meantime, SSAB has announced its financial and operational results for the first quarter of this year.
In the given quarter, the company reported a net profit of SEK 1.13 billion ($116.87 million), compared to a net profit of SEK 2.57 billion in the corresponding period of 2024, while its sales revenues amounted to SEK 25.52 billion ($2.64 billion), decreasing by six percent year on year, mainly due to lower prices. In addition, SSAB’s operating profit for the first quarter amounted to SEK 1.35 billion ($139.55 million), compared to an operating profit of SEK 3.16 billion recorded in the same quarter of last year, mainly due to lower prices in the North American plate market.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter, SSAB’s total crude steel output rose by 0.3 percent to 1.95 million mt, while its finished steel production stood at 1.78 million mt, up by 6.3 percent, both year on year. Additionally, its steel shipments in the given period grew by 5.9 percent year on year to 1.68 million mt.
According to SSAB, the order intake during the first quarter improved in many of SSAB’s markets. Nevertheless, there is an increased risk of lower economic activity following turbulence triggered by trade barriers and tariffs. This means that the outlook for the steel divisions for the next quarter is more uncertain than usual.