Underneath a brand new settlement, Swedish metal producer SSAB will present fossil-free metal to Amazon Internet Companies to be used in building of considered one of its three new knowledge facilities in Sweden. This system will see AWS obtain metal from SSAB, in addition to roof and wall constructions for the buildings from SSAB’s subsidiary Ruukki. The primary knowledge middle buildings are due for completion by mid-2025.
AWS has been working with numerous corporations to make use of lower-carbon concrete, metal, and different supplies for building of its knowledge facilities, together with these in Sweden, which have expanded lately due to elevated demand for web-based providers for AI and different applied sciences. A lot of the metal utilized by AWS is made by recycling scrap in electrical arc furnaces (EAF), which has solely 1 / 4 of the carbon emissions related to metal made in blast furnaces (BF-BOF).
The brand new settlement follows an announcement earlier this 12 months by SSAB of a choice to construct a fossil-free mini-mill in Luleå, Sweden, able to producing 2.5 million tonnes of carbon emission-free metal yearly, which the corporate mentioned would cut back Sweden’s CO2 emissions by 7%.
The brand new deal will see SSAB provide AWS with fossil-free metal, made utilizing its HYBRIT expertise, which largely eliminates the CO2 emissions from the steelmaking course of altogether, producing simply one-tenth of the carbon emissions of typical BF-BOF steelmaking. Conventional steelmaking causes about 7% of worldwide CO2 emissions, with each virgin and recycled metal manufacturing contributing to emissions.
Thomas Hörnfeldt, VP of Sustainable Enterprise at SSAB, mentioned:
“We’re thrilled to welcome AWS as a brand new accomplice. By selecting metal made with the HYBRIT expertise, AWS reveals it’s doable to cut back the carbon footprint of information middle building no matter whether or not the metal is constituted of scrap or virgin iron ore.”
The brand new steelmaking system utilized by SSAB was developed by the corporate along with iron ore firm LKAB and power firm Vattenfall to switch the carbon-intensive BF-BOF manufacturing of virgin metal. As an alternative of coking coal, the HYBRIT expertise makes use of hydrogen, produced with fossil-free electrical energy, to make sponge iron, which is then additional processed into metal. This course of emits water vapor as a substitute of carbon dioxide.
AWS has labored with numerous corporations in its provide chain to make sure that 70% of the structural metal utilized in a number of of its knowledge facilities in Sweden are derived from scrap-EAF sources, leading to 10,000 fewer tons of embodied carbon emissions, the corporate mentioned. Nonetheless, the provision of such lower-carbon metal is restricted; the Worldwide Power Company forecasts there’ll solely be sufficient metal scrap generated in 2050 to satisfy 45% of worldwide demand. To make sure that it could possibly proceed decreasing its carbon footprint, AWS mentioned that it has been working with corporations to develop different strategies of low-carbon metal manufacturing – and therefore its cope with SSAB.
Kellen O’Connor, Managing Director Europe North at AWS, mentioned:
“Lowering the embodied carbon related to the development of our knowledge facilities is a key precedence for AWS as we work to attain net-zero carbon throughout our operations by 2040. By partnering with modern native corporations like SSAB and Ruukki, we’re taking an essential step to decarbonize the supplies utilized in our knowledge facilities and set a brand new normal for sustainable infrastructure. We’re excited to be working with corporations on the forefront of lower-carbon virgin metal manufacturing.”
Amazon has been taking different steps to cut back the carbon footprint of its knowledge facilities. In October, Amazon introduced a collection of recent offers, and a $500 million funding, kicking off an expanded transfer to nuclear power as a element of its technique to handle the growing local weather impression of its quickly rising knowledge middle footprint. Amazon pledged in 2019 to match all the electrical energy consumed throughout its world operations, together with knowledge facilities, company buildings, shops and success facilities, with 100% renewable power by 2030.
