LKAB and Salzgitter AG have agreed to cooperate on the decarbonization of the steel industry and have therefore forged a technical cooperation agreement. Both sides perceive the agreement as an important step for the expansion and further development of the decades-long partnership. According to the SALCOS® - Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking program, the Salzgitter Group will have incrementally realized virtually CO2-free steel production by 2033, subject to expedient and suitable economic policy framework conditions and significant public subsidies. LKAB produces about 80 percent of the iron ore mined in the EU and provides both blast furnace and direct reduction-based steel companies with high-quality, low-carbon iron ore pellets and fines. It has already started to transition its production of iron ore to carbon-free sponge iron (HBI/DRI), a strategy aimed at
enabling annual emissions savings of more than 40 million tons of CO2 in the steel industry before 2050. Very high-quality iron ore pellets are required for the new steelmaking process via SALCOS® involving direct reduction plants and electric arc furnaces. The planned technical cooperation entails the companies examining which prerequisites need to be created to achieve this and evaluating the potential development of iron-ore-based raw materials for the future steelmaking process route. Both companies are also committed to these issues and topics as low-carbon steel production and the respective raw materials lay the foundation for achieving their sustainability targets as well as those of their customers.