Manitou to use low-carbon SSAB steel

Sweden-based metals producer SSAB has signed a letter of intent for deliveries of its “fossil-free” steel to France-based material handling and earthmoving equipment maker Manitou Group. Among the Manitou Group brands is Gehl, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of loaders, compact excavators and attachments used in the scrap recycling, demolition and construction sectors.

The SSAB fossil-free product line includes SSAB Zero, a steel made from recycled scrap using fossil-free energy sources, which the company says results in virtually zero emissions from the steelmaking process.

The steelmaker already delivers specialized and high-strength steels to Manitou Group, and the companies are now furthering their collaboration by adding future deliveries of the emission-free steels, SSAB Fossil-free and SSAB Zero to the mix.

The SSAB fossil-free branded product, rather than relying on scrap like SSAB Zero, uses the firm’s co-developed HYBRIT technology, which substitutes hydrogen gas produced with fossil-free electricity to make hot briquetted iron (HBI) as a steel raw material.

Late last year, SSAB and the Sweden-based Volvo Car Group announced a similar agreement regarding the use of recycled-content steel.  

Deliveries of the reduced carbon steels are set to start in 2026 and will ramp up as SSAB’s fossil-free steel production capacity increases, according to SSAB.

“We’re excited about adding Manitou Group as a fossil-free partner to SSAB,” says Olavi Huhtala, executive vice president at SSAB Europe. “Our goal is to revolutionize the way steel is produced and pave the way for a greener future. Thanks to customers like Manitou Group who share our ambition of reducing carbon emissions, we’re able to create early markets for sustainable steel.”

“We work every day closely with our suppliers to reduce our indirect carbon emissions and offer more sustainable products to our customers," adds Maurizio Achilli, vice president at Manitou Group. "This collaboration with SSAB is very important for us as steel represents the main raw material for our products.”