Danieli has been selected by Scandinavian steel company SSAB as the technology supplier for a ground-breaking, environmentally friendly minimill project in Luleå, Sweden. An Early Service Agreement (ESA) has been signed between the two companies, focussing on the pre-engineering and engineering phases of the project.
Danieli will provide SSAB with a modern, highly automated minimill system. This includes two electric arc furnaces, a sophisticated secondary metallurgy system, a casting line and a strip line. The plant is designed to significantly advance SSAB's decarbonisation efforts while benefiting the company's customers.
High-tech contributions to reducing emissions
The plant in Luleå, which is expected to have a production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per year, will run on a combination of fossil-free sponge iron and recycled scrap. The sponge iron will be sourced from SSAB's Hybrit demonstration plant in Gällivare.
Danieli's contribution includes the provision of a smelter that enables continuous scrap feeding and dynamic melting control via a melt model suite. This equipment improves the efficiency of the furnace while reducing NOx emissions. The plant will also be equipped with double ladle grinding stations and two-tank vacuum degassers.
The selected configuration of the QSP-DUE Danieli Universal Endless technology also includes an all-electric tunnel kiln, which is optimised to minimise carbon emissions. In addition, the use of dry rollers in the furnace contributes to significant energy savings. The mill will enable SSAB to produce a variety of hot-rolled strip in either coil-to-coil or semi-endless mode.
Automation will be a key feature of the new mill, with comprehensive quality management systems monitoring operations from scrap handling to coil storage. Danieli will also install water and flue gas treatment systems as well as the necessary auxiliary equipment and cranes.
Schedule and future plans
Commissioning of the new plant is planned for the end of 2028, with full production capacity to be reached the following year. Environmental licences are expected to be granted by the end of 2024.
This investment is a key milestone in SSAB's strategy to secure significant market share for low-emission speciality and premium steels. Once completed, SSAB plans to phase out the existing blast furnace operation in Luleå, which will reduce Swedish CO2 emissions by 7% – in addition to the expected 3% reduction from the Oxelösund plant retrofit.
