Current landscape The steel industry is making efforts to decarbonize, with notable advances in hydrogen-based steel production and improved recycling across the sector.50 While innovations such as these have helped stabilize emissions, near-zero production remains constrained by high input-energy costs, limited availability of high-quality scrap and the fundamental challenge that conventional processes inherently emit CO2. Clear, harmonized, industry definitions of near-zero steel are also needed to accelerate action and build scale. By aggregating corporate demand for near-zero steel, FMC is helping producers confidently secure investment to scale up promising decarbonization technologies and accelerate the industry’s transition. Impact highlights Several companies are already translating their near-zero materials commitments into action, signalling growing commercial maturity in green steel and low-carbon materials. In 2023, SSAB launched SSAB Zero™, a steel produced from recycled scrap using fossil-free electricity and hydrogen-reduced iron.51 Vattenfall is procuring 120 tonnes of fossil-free steel from SSAB to build the world’s first fossil-free dam gate at its Stornorrfors hydropower plant in Sweden, marking a key step in applying near-zero steel to energy infrastructure.52 The transition to lower-emission steel extends beyond the clean energy industry. In Finland, Alfa Laval, together with Outokumpu and SSAB, is installing Concept Zero™ heat exchangers at Helsinki’s Laakso Joint Hospital53 using SSAB Zero™ and Outokumpu Circle Green® steels.54 In 2025, SSAB further developed the SSAB Zero™ product at its Montpelier, Iowa facility. The facility’s production now meets both International Energy Agency and FMC thresholds for near-zero emissions by adding hydrogen-reduced iron from HYBRIT® technology to the process.55 The material has already been contracted for GE Vernova’s wind tower production.56 Meanwhile, EcoLab, via the Japan Hydrogen Fund and partners including Rio Tinto, Siemens Financial Services and Engie New Ventures, joined a €60 million funding round for GravitHy,57 a low-carbon iron start-up pioneering hydrogen-based direct- reduction technology that cuts emissions by up to 90% compared with conventional steelmaking.58 Together, these initiatives illustrate how early investment across sectors – from clean energy to industrial equipment and raw materials – are building the foundations for scalable, verified near-zero material markets and accelerating heavy-industry decarbonization. Outlook The future of decarbonizing the steel sector revolves around clearer industry definitions, greater supply transparency and substantial investment in infrastructure, science and technology. As near- zero steel remains expensive, establishing common emissions-reporting standards and prioritizing the production of green iron will strengthen market confidence. FMC’s aggregated demand approach exemplifies how improving transparency, catalysing market mechanisms and establishing clear methodologies can combine to accelerate investments, overcoming critical infrastructure and cost barriers. Steel Commitment in brief: Members commit to purchase at least 10% (by volume) near-zero-emission steel by 2030. Near-zero-emission steel is defined as per IEA guidelines – it should contain <0.4t (0% scrap inputs) to <0.05t (100% scrap inputs) of CO2e per tonne of crude steel produced. Read the steel commitment in full.Commitment reviewed in 2025 First Movers Coalition Impact Brief 13

First Movers Coalition Impact Brief 2026