Helping bring the world’s first large-scale, near-zero emissions steel plant online

Google is collaborating with Stegra to construct the world's first large-scale, green hydrogen-based steel plant in Sweden. This innovative approach replaces coal with renewable energy, resulting in a reduction of up to 95% in production emissions. Google intends to acquire environmental certificates for this steel, which will aid in scaling the technology and lowering the carbon footprint of future data center construction.

Traditional steel manufacturing heavily relies on coal, leading to significant pollution. However, Stegra's plant in Boden, Sweden, employs renewable electricity to generate green hydrogen. This hydrogen is subsequently chemically combined with iron ore to create iron. As coal is eliminated from the process, emission reductions of up to 95% compared to conventional blast furnace manufacturing are achievable.

Under the newly formed partnership, Google will receive environmental attribute certificates (EACs) from up to 91,000 metric tons of steel produced during the plant's first year. These certificates are purchased to promote sustainably produced materials, mitigate construction emissions, and support the early-stage technology's growth and financing.

By championing innovative technologies and joining forces with initiatives such as the Sustainable Steel Buyers Platform, Google aims to introduce more eco-friendly building materials to the market and incorporate them increasingly into its own operations, potentially reducing embodied carbon emissions from data center infrastructure by up to 40%.