Ruukki Construction, part of the SSAB Group, is partnering with Honkarakenne to pilot the use of SSAB fossil-free steel in roofing products. The first-ever roof made of fossil-free steel will be installed on a Honka log house in Klaukkala, Finland. The piloting is part of Ruukki's efforts to take the construction industry towards carbon-neutral buildings.  

The world's first house featuring a roof made of fossil-free steel will be built in Klaukkala, Finland. Manufactured at Ruukki's Vimpeli plant in Finland, the Ruukki Classic roof, is made of fossil-free steel coated with a bio-based coating. The roof complements Honka's ecological and low-carbon log building, which is constructed of renewable wood from sustainably managed and certified forests. 

Ruukki is working together with selected house factory customers to develop sustainable houses with a Ruukki Classic roof made of fossil-free steel. Besides the choice of raw material, Ruukki is seeking to minimize the lifecycle emissions of its products by using green energy in manufacturing, bio-based or recycled materials in packaging and bio-based fuels in logistics where possible.

"In addition to the healthiness and long lifetime of our massive wooden log buildings, our customers around the world value ecological sustainability, the core of which is the reduction of CO₂ emissions and low-carbon construction. Log is a super material for low-carbon construction, and Ruukki's low-carbon roofing products are a significant step towards more sustainable construction," says Eino Hekali, Vice President, Product at Honkarakenne.

"Honkarakenne is our strategic partner and a trendsetter in wood construction, whose operations are guided by sustainability. At Ruukki, we engage in long-term cooperation with our customers so that together we can reduce the environmental impact of construction," says Jorma Korhonen, Business Director of Ruukki's Roofing business in Finland.

Ruukki delivered the world’s first pilot products of fossil-free steel in the third quarter of 2023 and later this year the company will also pilot SSAB Zero™ steel made of recycled steel in building products with the ambition to be the first to launch state-of-the-art recycled steel-based product families in 2024. Products made of fossil-free steel will be offered at a commercial scale from 2026.

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