Volvo unveils world’s first fossil-free steel vehicle
Volvo Group has unveiled the world’s first vehicle made of fossil-free steel from SSAB – made in Volvo Construction Equipment’s facility in Braås, Sweden, and announced that more vehicles will follow in 2022 in what will be a series of concept vehicles and components using fossil-free steel from SSAB.
The machine, a load carrier for use in mining and quarrying, was unveiled at a green steel collaboration event on October 13, in Gothenburg hosted by Melker Jernberg, President of Volvo CE, and Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO Volvo Group.
“Our ambition is to have fossil-free steel used across all our products, with a step-by-step approach. This machine is proof that we really can make fast progress, when we work together in strong partnerships, when we are determined to act and we enable our skilled people to contribute to building the world we want to live in,” Jernberg said in a media release. “Not only for our generation, but for generations to come.”
“This initiative with SSAB sets the benchmark for a fossil-free future. Just as the nations of the world come together at COP26 to address climate change, so too must organizations and industries work in collaboration to develop innovative new solutions for a greenhouse gas emission free future,” said Martin Lundstedt, CEO of Volvo Group.
Volvo Group is committed to pioneering partnerships such as this with SSAB to develop attractive, safe and efficient new vehicles and machines that pave the way for a more sustainable transport and infrastructure system adopted for the future,” Lundstedt said.
With a commitment to be climate-neutral and achieve net zero value chain greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, Volvo Group said it is on the path towards developing sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions of the future. Along with the electrification of its vehicles and machines, Volvo said it is determined to reduce the carbon footprint of its entire supply chain.
A move toward green steel is an important step for the transport and infrastructure industries as a whole, particularly considering that around 70% of a truck’s weight comes from steel and cast iron, with the figure for Volvo machines even higher.
This first concept machine, produced at Volvo CE’s facility in Braås, is just the start, the company said, with smaller-scale series production planned by 2022, and mass production set to follow.
