Sweden-based steel company SSAB says it will showcase the first SSAB Zero™ steel in the Hardox® product range at bauma, in Munich, Germany, in April.

Hardox 450 made from SSAB Zero has the same qualities and high standards of performance that make Hardox wear plate the global benchmark for premium wear plate, the company says.

SSAB Zero is made using recycled steel in a process powered by fossil-free electricity and biogas – resulting in virtually no carbon emissions from fossil fuels during the steelmaking process, the company claims. The fossil carbon emissions in SSAB’s production of SSAB Zero are less than 0.05 kg CO2e/kg steel in Scope 1 and 2 of the GHG Protocol. This steel can thus help reduce carbon emissions at the source, from the steel production process itself, downstream throughout a manufacturer’s value chain.

SSAB says Hardox 450 made from SSAB Zero benefits manufacturers by:

• Immediately reducing the carbon footprint of construction, mining and quarrying equipment;
• Lowering emissions from steel production at the source;
• Supporting the development of clean energy technologies and achievement of broader sustainability goals; and
• Delivering superior hardness and toughness that can withstand the harshest working conditions and environments.

Epiroc is one of the first mining equipment manufacturers in the world to feature a loading bucket made with SSAB Zero in a commercial product. It achieved a reduction of 15 t of CO2e per bucket produced compared with traditional steel through the use of SSAB Zero, the company says.

“By introducing SSAB Zero™ in our serial production, we show this is not just talk – we are actually taking action and reducing our upstream footprint,” Carin Bergendorff, Vice President Group Strategic Sourcing at Epiroc, said.