SMS group, a specialist in plant construction and mechanical engineering for the metals industry, has selected ABB’s latest generation of drives to provide process technology for H₂ green steel plant in Boden, Sweden. Globally, the steel industry is responsible for an estimated 8% of the world’s energy demand and generates between 7% to 9% of CO₂ emissions – most of which are from burning fossil fuels, according to the recent International Energy Agency (IEA) Iron and Steel Technology Roadmap. The project is currently in its first phase and will begin production at the end of 2025. It uses H₂ in the furnaces rather than fossil fuels, resulting in steel with 95% lower CO₂ emissions than conventional methods.

“This is the latest development in ABB’s longstanding relationship with SMS group. Our drives have a long track record in the most demanding applications, and it is exciting that they will now contribute to green steel production at Boden. We are proud to play a role in the transformation of the steel industry as it shifts to H₂ combustion,” said Chris Poynter Division President for System Drives, ABB Motion.

ABB will provide around 1,200 ACS880 low voltage (LV) drives for use throughout nine demanding areas of plant, including the tunnel furnace, plate mill, and the annealing and galvanizing line. These drives will provide precision control of equipment as well as a consistent, stable supply of electricity. In addition, ABB will provide 11 ACS6080 medium voltage (MV) drives in both individual and multidrive configurations for use in the project’s hot and tandem cold mills. These applications depend on the ACS6080’s industry-leading precision to ensure uniform mechanical qualities, thickness and finish.

A multidrive configuration enables a single drive cabinet to control several motors independently. The advantages are a smaller footprint and greater energy efficiency, including the capability to share energy captured by regenerative braking. For the demanding hot finishing mills, the multidrive concept ensures grid-friendly operation and low harmonic content. Multidrives also achieve increased reliability and optimized installation costs.

The Boden plant is on course for large-scale production from 2026 and by 2030 it is expected to supply 5 MMtpy of green steel.