| Climate change and scarce resources | Population growth and urbanization | Digitalization | Changing global market conditions | |
| Impacts on the steel industry |
• Increasing demand for steel with a low
climate impact • Increasing cost of carbon emissions • Development of more resource- and carbon-efficient products and processes • Climate change can affect steel production and supply chains |
• Increasing demand for steel in the construction, infrastructure and energy sectors • Increasing demand for sustainable and energy-efficient buildings and traffic solutions |
• Digital services provide greater availability of more efficient control systems and increased transparency in the value chain • E-commerce and digital platforms impact market dynamics |
• Higher importance of regional markets because of growing protectionism and trade policy restrictions • Supply chains have changed partly due to regionalization and partly as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and shutdowns related to Covid-19 • Increasing demand for steel in developing economies |
| Examples of how SSAB responds to the trends |
• Transformation plan to replace blast furnaces and coke plants with electric arc furnaces in around 2030 • Launch of SSAB Zero based on recycled steel without fossil carbon dioxide emissions • Plan to launch commercial volumes of fossil-free steel to support a fossil-free value chain |
• SSAB offers a broad range of steel products used in construction and infrastructure, for example for construction machinery and renewable energy installations |
• SSAB develops the portfolio of digital services and tools as well as new business areas such as fossil-free steel powder that can be used for 3D printing, so called additive manufacturing • SSAB works with the use of robotics, machine learning and advanced analysis to improve production stability and increase process efficiency |
• SSAB continues to strengthen home market positions and invest in production capacity to enable each production site to cover more of the Group's product range and to work to minimize supply chain risks both in supply chain security and sustainability • SSAB aims to market the advantages of high-strength steel, not least on emerging markets |