AB Volvo Is Going Environment-Friendly Building Its Trucks Using Steel Forged Without Fossil Fuel
by AutoExpert | 9 April, 2021
According to their recent announcement on Thursday, Stockholm-Swedish truck maker AB Volvo and steelmaker SSAB, partnered up and through a signed agreement will be able to produce the world's first vehicles made of fossil-free steel. What more could we ask from a Volvo truck?
This year, Volvo plans to focus its production on the prototype vehicles and components from steel made by SSAB using hydrogen produced from renewable energy. The prototype would take a while since there are many testings ahead. The truck isn't just an off-road going on rough terrain, it takes a lot of endurance testing for its trips across long distances, weathers, and heavy cargos., right. Small-scale serial production is scheduled to start in 2022.
Martin Lundstedt, the Volvo CEO, stated that this is an important step on the road to completely climate-neutral transport. Also, this switch towards fossil-free steel components means the vehicles and machines will be emissions-free in operation. Furthermore, he specified that the adding the company is reviewing all the materials used in their construction to eliminate anything based on fossil fuels.
SSAB owns the patent for the steel from green steel venture HYBRIT in their Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall and Swedish miner LKAB. Last summer, the company began the test operations in Lulea, Sweden, starting with replacing coking coal, which is traditionally needed for ore-based steel making, with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. the latter one is produced solely using renewable power.
There's the official confirmation that AB Volvo, which it has said will be fully electric by 2030. China's Geely Holding, which has a stake in Volvo Cars confirmed it gladly.