Tyler Chalfant | December 19th, 2019

Steel producer SSAB Americas announced on Tuesday that its steel production process will be completely fossil-free by 2026. This would make the Swedish-American company the first supplier of fossil-free steel in North America. As steel production is responsible for 7% of carbon dioxide emissions globally, widespread implementation of these techniques would have a significant environmental impact.

The SSAB steel mill located in Montpelier, Iowa is already on track to be powered completely by renewable energy in 2022, the company says. SSAB Iowa plans to partner with MidAmerican Energy to power this mill using renewable energy, primarily from wind farms in the state. In addition, plants in Alabama and Iowa will use recycled and fossil-free materials in their production process.

MidAmerican Energy has previously announced its goal to use wind energy to provide 100% renewable energy to all of its customers. If MidAmerican meets this goal, it would also be the first investor-owned utility company in the country to do so, though environmental groups have questioned whether they will indeed be able to, as the company has resisted closing coal-fired plants.