European roller bearing manufacturer SKF and voestalpine Wire Technology have produced the first prototype bearing from hydrogen direct reduced iron (H-DRI) steel.
SKF and voestalpine have been working together since 2022 to explore possibilities of using H-DRI steel for bearing applications, Callanish hears from the Swedish company. The spherical roller bearing prototype was handed over to voestalpine Wire Technology at the SKF plant in Steyr, Austria. Spherical roller bearings can be used in many different applications and industries, such as shipbuilding, pulp and paper manufacturing, mining and construction.
“Steel is a critical raw material for bearings, and to achieve the necessary changes and speed in decarbonization of production bearings, the entire industry needs to come together,” says SKF Chief Technology Officer Annika Olme.
SKF recently announced that it has also started purchasing low-carbon steel from Swiss Steel. Since the beginning of the year, Swiss Steel has been supplying its GreenSteel Climate+ grade, produced at Germany's Deutsche Edelstahlwerke (DEW), exclusively to SKF.
