Hybrit

What Hybrit does

Hybrit (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) is a joint initiative launched in 2016 by three Swedish industrial companies — steel manufacturer SSAB, iron ore miner LKAB, and energy company Vattenfall — to develop a fossil-free value chain for ore-based iron and steelmaking. It is operated through Hybrit Development AB, a Swedish private limited company headquartered in Stockholm (Klarabergsviadukten 70, C7) with primary engineering and pilot operations in Luleå. The organization has approximately 35 permanent employees and draws on roughly 200 people total including consultants and owner-company personnel; the legal entity has no external shareholders, no public listing, and no disclosed external equity funding.

Name

Hybrit

Legal name

Hybrit Development AB

Website

https://hybritdevelopment.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

HYBRIT is a Swedish joint initiative by SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall developing hydrogen-based direct reduction and LRC hydrogen storage to replace coal-fueled blast furnaces with fossil-free ore-based steelmaking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fossil-free Steel Technology R&D

NAICS

Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing (331110), Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing (33111), Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing (3311)

SIC

Steel Works, Blast Furnaces & Rolling & Finishing Mills (3310)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Steelmaking (Incl. DRI/HBI-Based) (IMAKABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) & Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) Production (IMAKABAC)

Keywords

• Fossil-free steel production
• Hydrogen direct reduction
• Green steel technology
• Hydrogen storage solutions
• Industrial decarbonization

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Technology Development and Transfer: Hybrit does not generate direct revenue from product sales. It is a research and development initiative funded by its three owner companies (SSAB, LKAB, Vattenfall). The developed technology will be implemented in the owner companies' industrial facilities for commercial production of fossil-free steel.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hybrit develops and validates fossil-free steel production technology replacing the traditional coal/coke-based blast furnace process with a hydrogen-based direct reduction (H-DRI) value chain. Its portfolio encompasses fossil-free iron ore pellets, hydrogen-based direct reduction of iron ore, fossil-free hydrogen production via electrolysis, Lined Rock Cavern (LRC) underground hydrogen storage, and electric arc furnace smelting — operated and demonstrated at pilot scale in Luleå, Sweden and transferred to its owner companies for industrial implementation.

Product overview

Hybrit (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) is a joint initiative by SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall developing the world's first fossil-free ore-based iron and steel production value chain. The HYBRIT Technology platform encompasses hydrogen-based direct reduction of iron ore, fossil-free hydrogen storage using LRC (Lined Rock Cavern) technology, and production of hydrogen-reduced sponge iron (H-DRI) and hot briquetted iron (HBI). The process replaces traditional blast furnace technology using coal and coke with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen, achieving near-zero CO2 emissions. Hybrit operates pilot facilities in Luleå, Sweden to validate the complete value chain from fossil-free pellets through direct reduction to fossil-free steel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HYBRIT Technology (Hydrogen-based Direct Reduction platform) End-to-end hydrogen-based direct reduction (H-DRI) technology platform for fossil-free ore-based iron and steel production, using fossil-free electricity and hydrogen instead of coal and coke. Targets the iron and steel industry and is transferred to owner companies (SSAB, LKAB, Vattenfall) for industrial implementation.
• Hydrogen Storage (Lined Rock Cavern - LRC) Underground fossil-free hydrogen storage technology using steel-lined rock caverns, demonstrated at pilot scale (100 m3) with 96% availability, enabling 25–40% savings in variable hydrogen production costs by buffering against electricity price volatility.
• Hydrogen-Reduced Sponge Iron (H-DRI) Direct reduced iron produced using hydrogen as the reducing agent — a carbon-free intermediate product in the fossil-free steel value chain with highly metallized structure and superior mechanical and aging properties (patent applications filed with the European Patent Office). Easy to handle, transport, and store.
• Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) Compressed form of hydrogen-reduced sponge iron (H-DRI) produced for easier handling, transport, and storage as part of the fossil-free steel production process.
• Fossil-Free Iron Ore Pellets Iron ore pellets produced without fossil-based binders or additives, designed as the dedicated input material for HYBRIT's hydrogen-based direct reduction process.
• Pilot Plant Operations (Luleå Demonstration Site) Semi-industrial research and development facilities in Luleå, Sweden, encompassing the direct reduction pilot, hydrogen production via electrolysis, and the hydrogen storage pilot, used to validate the complete fossil-free steel value chain prior to industrial-scale deployment by owner companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduction of Sweden's CO2 emissions by at least 10% (one-third of industrial emissions)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SSABcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016SSAB is one of three founding owner companies of the HYBRIT initiative. SSAB is a steel company providing steel production expertise and is the primary implementer of HYBRIT technology. In January 2022, SSAB's board decided to convert the entire Nordic production system to fossil-free steel. SSAB produced the world's first fossil-free steel using HYBRIT technology in August 2021.
• LKABcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016LKAB is one of three founding owner companies of the HYBRIT initiative. LKAB is a mining company providing iron ore expertise and raw materials (high-quality iron ore pellets). LKAB submitted environmental permit application in May 2023 for transition in Gällivare including demonstration plant on LKAB's industrial site.
• VattenfallcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Vattenfall is one of three founding owner companies of the HYBRIT initiative. Vattenfall is an energy company providing fossil-free electricity and hydrogen production expertise. Vattenfall manages the hydrogen storage pilot project and has expertise in energy systems and electrolysis.
• Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Swedish Energy Agency has co-financed the hydrogen storage project at 22% and the pilot plant for direct reduction. The pilot project was conducted with support from the Swedish Energy Agency. HYBRIT reported six years of research results to the agency in August 2024.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ArcelorMittal: World's largest steel producer, pursuing multiple hydrogen-based and carbon-capture decarbonization pathways across European sites. Competes with HYBRIT/SSAB in the emerging low-CO2 steel category and has the scale to define the global standard.
• Cleveland-Cliffs: Major North American flat-rolled steel producer with EAF and DRI operations. Comparable as a vertically integrated steel incumbent evaluating and investing in hydrogen-DRI and other decarbonization pathways.
• Nucor Corporation: Largest US steel producer and North America's leading EAF-based steelmaker, with active green-steel and hydrogen-DRI investment programs. Comparable as a major EAF/DRI incumbent pursuing low-carbon steel at scale.

Direct peers

• Salzgitter AG: Operating the SALCOS (Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking) program to transition to hydrogen-based DRI/EAF steelmaking. Comparable European integrated steelmaker with an active green-steel industrial-scale roadmap.
• Midrex Technologies: Global leader in shaft-furnace direct reduction technology (natural gas DRI/HBI), with active hydrogen-DRI development programs. Comparable as a DRI technology provider whose installed base represents the incumbent standard HYBRIT is challenging.
• Voestalpine: Austrian steelmaker participating in the H2FUTURE project and pursuing green hydrogen for steel decarbonization. Comparable integrated European steelmaker with active hydrogen-direct-reduction investigations.
• SSAB: SSAB is HYBRIT's founding owner and primary implementer of H-DRI technology, having produced the world's first fossil-free steel in August 2021. As a Nordic steel major committing its entire production system to HYBRIT technology, SSAB is both the JV's customer and the most direct comparable operator of green-steel capacity.
• Primetals Technologies: Provider of integrated steel plant equipment including DRI, EAF and hydrogen-based reduction technologies. Comparable as an industrial-scale DRI/EAF technology supplier directly serving the same decarbonization use case.
• Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe: German steelmaker developing the tkH2Steel project to replace blast furnaces with hydrogen-based direct reduction in Duisburg. Directly comparable as a major integrated steel producer pursuing hydrogen DRI at industrial scale in Europe.

Emerging players

• Boston Metal: US-based startup developing molten oxide electrolysis as an alternative route to fossil-free steel, competing directly for the green-steal technology standard. Comparable as an emerging green-steel technology developer targeting iron and steelmaking decarbonization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xvimeo.com/user132821026
• YouTubevimeo.com/user132821026
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hybritdevelopment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hybrit