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The world’s first building with fossil-free steel – industrial facility in Lund, Sweden

In 2024, the world’s first building constructed with fossil-free steel was completed: the industrial facility Tomaten 1 in Lund. The wall and roof structures of the building were produced by Ruukki, using fossil-free steel in the manufacture of Ruukki Life LowCarbon sandwich panels.

Partners

  • Main contractor: Peab
  • Investor: Wihlborgs
  • Installation: Smidmek
  • Architect: Wennström &Lundquist arkitekter
  • Year: 2023-2024

 

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This marks a historic shift for the construction industry. The completion of the world’s first building with fossil-free steel has been described as groundbreaking. It’s Wihlborgs’ property, Tomaten 1, located in Hasslanda in Lund — a 6,000-square-meter industrial facility constructed by Peab for the tenant Inpac.

The building is seen as the starting point for a broad effort to reduce the climate impact of the construction industry. When fossil-free steel is produced on a commercial scale, the environmental impact of building envelopes like the one in “Tomaten” could be reduced by 50 percent.

The load bearing sheet T130M and Ruukki Life LowCarbon sandwich panel were supplied to the building. In these panels, some of the conventional steel has been replaced by SSAB’s fossil-free steel, produced using HYBRIT technology. Ruukki’s current Life panels have a carbon footprint that is 20 percent lower than the average European mineral wool panel. The core of the Life panels consists of glass wool, over 70 percent of which is made from recycled glass.

“This project is an excellent example of how we can revolutionize future buildings together with our customers. We are proud to be part of pushing the construction industry forward with products that are not only made with fossil-free steel but also developed with sustainability and the product's entire life cycle in mind,” says Sami Eronen, CEO of Ruukki Construction.

The project had from start high sustainability requirements to meet the Miljöbyggnad Silver* certification.

Read more about the project here

*) Miljöbyggnad Silver is an environmental certification that assesses and rates buildings based on their environmental performance. It is part of the broader "Miljöbyggnad" certification system, which is used in Sweden to evaluate buildings in terms of energy efficiency, indoor environment, and building materials. 

Products

Sandwich panel Ruukki E Life LowCarbon with SSAB fossil-free steel

  • Profiling: Micro 15
  • Colors: RR22 and RR23

Load bearing sheet T130M-75L-930