Electric Volvo Trucks To Use Fossil-Free Steel
Medium and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer, Volvo Trucks has now taken one more step towards minimizing its carbon footprint, by introducing fossil-free steel in its trucks. The steel is produced by the Swedish steel production company SSAB and the heavy-duty electric Volvo trucks will be the world’s first truck manufacturer to include it.
The fossil-free steel is produced using a new technology based on hydrogen. The first machine, a load carrier made of fossil-free steel, was showcased in October 2021.
The company says today around 30 percent of the materials in a new Volvo truck come from recycled materials and up to 90 percent of the truck can be recycled at the end of its life. Fossil-free steel will be an important complement to the traditional and recycled steel used in Volvo’s trucks.
The first steel produced with hydrogen will be used in the truck’s frame rails, the backbone of the truck upon which all other main components are mounted. As the availability of fossil-free steel increases, it will also be introduced in other parts of the truck.
Small scale introduction of the steel in Volvo’s heavy electric trucks will begin in the third quarter of 2022.
