Nicolai Schaaf, hållbarhetsansvarig på Kanthal. Fotograf: Elias Ljungberg
The E-prize is organized by Sweden's largest business newspaper, Dagens Industri and the newspaper Aktuell Hållbarhet together with the energy group E.ON. The prize is Sweden's largest energy prize in business and aims to promote the development of Swedish companies that contribute to, invent and enable the energy and climate transition. The companies are awarded in three categories: Renewable energy, energy optimization and sustainable transport. This is the 16th year in a row that the sharpest energy innovations have been awarded.
The jury's motivation read:
"With a 90-year-old invention combined with a modern and innovative approach, this year’s winner is paving the way for a fossil-free industry through the electrification of high-temperature processes. Natural gas is replaced by efficient electric heating in industrial applications, enabling fossil-free production processes that improve both the environment and working conditions. The company is a global pioneer and a key player in the field of sustainable industrial electrification, contributing to the production of fossil-free steel and the sustainable manufacturing of solar cells and batteries."
”We are very proud that the jury chose us and our technology for this prize. With our technology, industries around the world, such as the steel, battery, semiconductors and glass industries, can use electricity instead of fossil fuels. This can contribute to major emission savings in global industry. The technology has a 100-year legacy of innovative development and is more relevant than ever. There is a large potential, and more and more industries are making use of it,” says Robert Ståhl, President of Kanthal.
"The greatest opportunities of the energy transition are still ahead of us. It is necessary to level up both in terms of temperature and scale and find completely new solutions for industries such as steel and cement. In addition, our products themselves have become a huge lever for this transition: Not only do they reduce customers’ emissions, but they also contribute to the expansion and improved management of fossil-free electricity,” says Nicolai Schaaf, sustainability manager at Kanthal.
Kanthal's products enable the electrification of various industrial processes that require high temperatures. By replacing fossil fuels with electricity, companies can increase their efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions – or eliminate them entirely if fossil-free electricity is used. The technology has its roots in a 93-year-old innovation, but with the world's focus on climate change and the need to phase out fossil fuels the solutions can now reach their full potential.
Industrial heating processes are found in all manufacturing industries such as steel, aluminum, glass and cement and today are mostly powered by burning fossil fuels. These processes are invisible to the consumers but account for around 10% of the world's total CO2 emissions and 75% of industrial CO2 emissions in Europe. In addition to reducing emissions in various industries, Kanthal's heating solutions are also crucial components in the manufacture of advanced solar cells, semiconductors and batteries.
About Kanthal
Kanthal, a division within the Alleima Group, has approximately 1,400 employees, 12 sales offices, and 12 production units spread across 11 countries globally, as well as 5,000 customers in 77 countries.
Kanthal is a supplier of products and services in industrial heating and resistance materials and manufactures ultra-thin wire for medical products. Its customers are primarily in the segments of industrial heating, consumer products, medical technology, and industry.
The company has a fully integrated production chain, meaning it manufactures both metallic and ceramic resistance materials from scratch.
The material and technology are used in heating processes up to 1,850°C and help industries such as steel, lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, and glass transition from fossil fuels to electricity, thereby reducing emissions while increasing efficiency. The materials are also used in applications where energy needs to be controlled, such as braking resistors for wind turbines or resistors and shunts in electric vehicles.
Stockholm, November 22, 2024
Alleima AB (publ)
Press Contacts
Yvonne Edenholm
Press and Media Relations Manager
yvonne.edenholm@alleima.com
Phone: +46 (0) 72 145 23 42
About Alleima
Alleima is a global manufacturer of high value-added products in advanced stainless steels and special alloys as well as solutions for industrial heating. Based on long-term customer partnerships and leading materials technology, we develop products for the most demanding applications and industries. Our offering includes products like seamless steel tubes for the energy, chemical and aerospace industries, precision strip steel for white goods compressors, air conditioners and knife applications, based on more than 900 active alloy recipes. It also includes ultra-fine wires for medical and micro-electronic devices, industrial electric heating technology and coated strip steel for fuel cell technology for cars, trucks, and hydrogen production. Our fully integrated value chain, from R&D to end-product, ensures industry-leading technology, quality, sustainability, and circularity. Alleima, with headquarter in Sandviken, Sweden, had approximately 6,500 employees and revenues of about 21 billion SEK in about 80 countries in 2023. The Alleima share was listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s Large Cap list on August 31, 2022, under the ticker ‘ALLEI’. Learn more at www.alleima.com.
