December
2020: Our steel mills and the VTD investment
For over a century, Ovako has made clean
steel a priority, particularly in bearing steel, where improved cleanness
extends the service life of components. Across three mills, we developed routes
tailored to deliver "fit-for-purpose" metallurgy with this in mind. - At Hofors, IQ-Steel achieved
levels of cleanness typically only seen in remelted steel, thanks to advanced
ladle metallurgy, ingot casting, and strategic cropping to remove defects.
- Imatra relied on continuous
casting of large blooms offering sound internal quality, ideal for
cost-effective production of demanding bearing steels.
- Smedjebacken, also equipped
with ladle metallurgy, focused on billet casting and highlighted Ovako’s latest
investment: a Vacuum Tank Degasser (VTD), which effectively removes gases like
hydrogen to enhance steel quality. ¨
February 2021: What makes Hybrid Steel so strong?
Ovako developed Hybrid Steel to excel in
high-stress, high-temperature environments: components like engine parts,
bearings, and specialty tools. Its fully martensitic structure delivers up to
three times the yield and tensile strength of conventional steels at
temperatures reaching 500°C.
By balancing carbon in solid solution with
finely dispersed carbide and intermetallic particles, measured in billions per
cubic millimeter, we engineered dislocation-resistant microstructures that
strengthened the steel from within. Atom probe tomography revealed how
nanometer-scale features contributed to performance well above standard grades.
Over time, Hybrid Steel has become the showstopper for Ovako’s commitment to
next-generation materials. March 2022: The
fundamental things apply
Ovako launched a new knowledge-sharing
series called “Fundamentals of…”, aimed at providing practical, well-structured
guidance on key topics relevant to those who manufacture steel components.
Drawing on both long-standing experience and new research, the series began
with in-depth guides on Heat Treatment of Steel and Welding Steel.
These complemented the tools already
available in Ovako’s Steel Navigator, such as the Heat Treatment Guide, M-Steel
Calculator, Piston Rod Predictor, and modularized Material Data Sheets. The
“Fundamentals of…” series clarified complex yet essential metallurgical
processes and offered real-world recommendations, reinforcing our mission to
support customers with superior understanding — not just superior material.
September 2023: Official opening of
Hofors hydrogen plant
On September 5, 2023, we inaugurated our
hydrogen plant in Hofors, welcoming Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, company CEO
Marcus Hedblom, and international partners from Japan and across the steel and
energy industries.
The plant became the first in the world to use
electrolysis-produced hydrogen for heating steel before rolling, and also
became Sweden’s largest electrolysis facility, rated at 20 MW and producing
3,880 m³ of hydrogen per hour. As a result, emissions from rolling operations
were reduced to nearly zero.
Supported by the Swedish Energy Agency’s
Industrial Leap program and the European Union, this investment became a
defining step in our to transition to fossil-free steelmaking.
October
2024: What is greenwashing? Five key questions
In October 2024, we outlined five key
questions customers should ask their steel suppliers to ensure true climate
performance and root out greenwashing. The questions are: - What steps are you taking to
reduce the burning of fossil fuels?
- Are you using fossil-free
electricity?
- How do you power your heat
treatment processes?
- Have you optimized your use of
recycled content?
- Do you consider all three
Scopes in your carbon footprint calculations?
If your supplier can’t answer these with
confidence or dodges them altogether — then you may be better off elsewhere!
Here’s to the next five years!
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