Swedish miner LKAB has produced iron ore pellets, using fossil-free fuel called ‘bio oil’ instead of coal or petroleum under the HYBRIT initiative – a joint venture between LKAB, SSAB and Vattenfall in Sweden.
These are the world’s first iron ore pellets made out of fossil-free fuel and are expected to reduce the Sweden’s CO2 emissions by 10pc.
Additionally, LKAB is also buying bio-oil from a plant near its Malmberget plant to replace fuel made out of petroleum and coal for one of its pelletizing plant, projected to reduce carbon by almost 40pc.
The company is also experimenting with various other carbon-free heating technologies at its Lulea plant which may perform better than conventional fuels, the companies said in a recent press release. The HYBRIT initiative is expected to produce close to 1mn mt of fossil free iron.