SMS group has secured the contract from Nordic steelmaker SSAB to engineer, deliver and construct a new electric arc furnace (EAF) for steelmaking at SSAB’s site in Oxelösund, Sweden.

The scope of supply includes a 190-ton Alternate Current-Electric Arc Furnace (AC-EAF) capable of processing various raw materials, including fossil-free Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) or Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI), and scrap. With an upper shell diameter of 9.3 metres, the new EAF is one of the largest installations in the world for similar applications, and it will help SSAB to scale up the decarbonisation of its production processes.

SSAB is revolutionising steelmaking with two unique steels with virtually zero fossil carbon emissions: SSAB Fossil-free and SSAB Zero.

SSAB Zero is based on recycled steel and SSAB Fossil-free is based on sponge iron reduced with hydrogen instead of coke coal. Both are heated in EAFs powered by fossil-free electricity and other fossil-free fuels. SSAB’s ambition is to be a virtually fossil-free company in around 2030.

SMS will supply all automated features including the slag handling and Eccentric Bottom Tapping (EBT) operations, the advanced electrode control X-Pact® SynReg, which, together with advanced robotics applications, such as the X-Pact® Sampler, ensure operational safety as well as better precision and productivity without human intervention.