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Luossavaara Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag

LKAB

LKAB is a Swedish state-owned mining company producing most of the EU's iron ore.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

18 Nov 2025 · Exchange of views with industries in the raw materials value chain on current challenges and possible solutions to diversify and secure access to raw materials in view of the REsourcEU plan

Meeting with Laia Pinos Mataro (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné)

8 Oct 2025 · Implementation of the Clean Industrial Deal and upcoming CBAM and EU ETS review

Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

25 Sept 2025 · Critical Raw Materials Act, steel industry

Meeting with Dan Jørgensen (Commissioner) and

15 Sept 2025 · Competitiveness

Meeting with Jessika Roswall (Commissioner) and

15 Sept 2025 · current priorities

Meeting with Gabriela Tschirkova (Cabinet of Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis)

9 Jul 2025 · Simplification

Meeting with Aleksandra Kordecka (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné) and European Association of Mining Industries, Metal Ores & Industrial Minerals

8 Jul 2025 · CRMA and the future Industrial Decarbonization Accelerator Act (IDAA)

Meeting with Jessika Roswall (Commissioner) and

27 Jun 2025 · Competitiveness and Minerals

Meeting with Joan Canton (Head of Unit Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)

19 Mar 2025 · Exchanges on barriers to investment in decarbonisation projects

Meeting with Niels Fuglsang (Member of the European Parliament)

19 Mar 2025 · Meeting on energy

Meeting with Brigitte Van Den Berg (Member of the European Parliament) and #SustainablePublicAffairs

18 Mar 2025 · Green transition of industry

Meeting with Tom Berendsen (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Mar 2025 · Energy-intensive industries and rare earths

Meeting with Kamil Talbi (Cabinet of Commissioner Dan Jørgensen) and #SustainablePublicAffairs

17 Mar 2025 · low-carbon and fossil-free iron

Meeting with Peter Van Kemseke (Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen)

17 Mar 2025 · STEEL SECTOR

Meeting with Koen Van De Casteele (Director Competition) and Boliden Group and RHI MAGNESITA

25 Feb 2025 · Presentation of Euromines study and companies’ efforts to decarbonise mining of basic metals and critical raw materials, as well as challenges regarding CCUS project development. Exchange of views on new State aid framework steps.

Meeting with Astrid Van Mierlo (Head of Unit Taxation and Customs Union) and European Association of Mining Industries, Metal Ores & Industrial Minerals and

25 Feb 2025 · Physical meeting - Exchange of views on the policy design and implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

19 Feb 2025 · Dialogue on the future of the automotive sector – Battery Session

LKAB urges streamlined permitting for green mining and electrification

31 Jan 2025
Topic — This consultation addresses the development of a competitive and integrated EU single market.
Message — LKAB calls for streamlined permitting and stable green policies. They also advocate for expanded grids and harmonized energy costs.123
Why — Streamlined permitting and infrastructure support would reduce investment delays for mining projects.45
Impact — Environmental groups may lose the ability to ensure thorough scrutiny during accelerated permitting.6
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Meeting with Hildegard Bentele (Member of the European Parliament) and Boliden Group

29 May 2024 · Water Management for a More Sustainable Raw Materials Industry

Meeting with Ditte Juul-Joergensen (Director-General Energy) and Transport and Environment (European Federation for Transport and Environment) and

23 Feb 2024 · Energy market

LKAB backs technology-neutral benchmarks for European iron ore

20 Dec 2023
Topic — Updating European Emissions Trading System regulations regarding the allocation of free carbon permits.
Message — The organization supports widening benchmarks to include all iron ore products like pellets. They want rules that treat products equally regardless of the specific production technology.12
Why — This would end unfair competition from rivals currently receiving more free carbon permits.3
Impact — Operators of carbon-intensive sinter plants would lose their current windfall profits.4
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Meeting with Asa Webber (Cabinet of Commissioner Ylva Johansson)

22 Nov 2023 · Free Allocation Regulation (FAR)

Meeting with Joan Canton (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

8 Nov 2023 · Exchange on critical raw materials, green steel and revision of free allowances regulation

Meeting with Kurt Vandenberghe (Director-General Climate Action)

16 Jun 2023 · ETS product benchmarks

Meeting with Mohammed Chahim (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

19 Apr 2023 · CRMA

Meeting with Hildegard Bentele (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

19 Apr 2023 · Critical Raw Materials Act

Meeting with Antoine Colombani (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and European Association of Mining Industries, Metal Ores & Industrial Minerals

24 Feb 2023 · Critical Raw Materials Act; EU Taxonomy

Meeting with Ylva Johansson (Commissioner) and Boliden Group and Swedish Association of Mines, Mineral and Metal Producers

19 Dec 2022 · critical raw materials

Response to European Critical Raw Materials Act

25 Nov 2022

LKABs views on the Critical Raw Materials Act (full details + urgent requests in the attachment) LKAB welcomes the Commissions initiative to address the obvious and urgent need to secure supply of raw materials required to develop digitalization and advanced technologies, to reach the objectives of the Green Deal. The need for metals and minerals also includes demands to accomplish a transformation of both the transport sector and of the energy sector, to maintain a strong defense system as well as to secure resilient value chains for European industries and for the future growth, security, and prosperity of the European society. The harsh reality is that none of this can be realized without a large influx of raw materials into the system, and especially of metals and minerals. Such metals and minerals are of critical and of strategical importance for the EU. The need to ensure the availability of metals and minerals is therefore paramount and cannot rely on import, trade and stockpiling but must also be secured by domestic production. LKAB produces approximately 80% of the iron ore in Europe and has the potential to become the leading producer also of REE and phosphorus in the EU. Thus, being a leading mining company in Europe and the leading iron ore producer, LKAB contributes to this consultation with deep knowledge and experiences regarding what is needed to strengthen the EU domestic supply, all guided by sustainability principles. As an example, LKAB and the Swedish mining industry has committed to a biodiversity strategy implying that by 2030, LKAB and the Swedish mining and minerals industry will contribute to a biodiversity net gain in all regions where mining and minerals operations and exploration take place. The potentially impacts on downstream users from supply deficits are exponential. A concrete example is the European car industry. To meet the policy decision that requires that all new vehicles sold from 2035 be zero emissions, the fleet of new vehicles will generally have to be equipped with electrical motors. Such motors will necessarily consist of some kilograms of REEs and with a noticeable higher amount of copper and other metals than in fossil fueled cars. Each kilogram of REE may not have such a high economic value, but in relation to the price of the cars that cannot be manufactured if there is a deficit of REEs the impact will be massive for both the European car industry and its subcontractors. The demand of metals globally will exceed the supply. We cannot rely only on trade agreements and there is an overwhelming risk that the European car production will have to move closer to where these raw materials are produced, outside the EU. And if the transport sector cannot be transformed, this will unavoidably also hamper the objectives to meet the climate goals as part of the green transition. The expected global undersupply of metals and minerals will undoubtfully threaten the green and digital transition and therefore it is vital that the EU takes responsibility for its own transition and the raw materials required. As much as LKAB acknowledges the important four founding pillars proposed for the CRM Act, we particularly want to stress the importance to enhance and improve the prerequisites for raw materials production within the EU as a backbone to secure a stable raw materials supply. As stated, more details on LKAB's most urgent requests for the CRM Act can be found in the attachment.
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Swedish miner LKAB backs fast-track permits for renewable energy

27 Jul 2022
Topic — European Union guidance on accelerating renewable energy permitting and power purchase agreements.
Message — The organization supports designating 'go-to areas' with fast-tracked permits and treating renewable projects as being of overriding public interest. They request unified criteria for these areas and call for streamlined administrative procedures for grid infrastructure, even outside designated zones.123
Why — Faster permitting would enable LKAB to secure the massive renewable power needed for zero-emission mining.45
Impact — Environmental advocates may see nature protections weakened by the focus on overriding public interest.6
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Response to Sustainable Products Initiative

22 Jun 2022

LKAB initial comments on the Ecodesign Requirements for Sustainable Products LKAB is a sustainable frontrunner in Europe’s iron and steel value chain Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) is an international high-tech mining and mineral group of iron ore in Sweden for the global steel market. More than 80% of the iron ore produced in Europe comes from LKAB’s mines. We have reduced our carbon footprint by 84% since the 1960s and we will continue our environmental commitments by adopting a new holistic corporate strategy paving the way for zero CO2 emissions by 2045 at the latest in its processes and products. At the heart of our strategy is fundamentally changing how we do things: Shifting to CO2 free sponge iron from our traditional iron ore pellets, and driving fossil-free hydrogen required for its production. When the transition has been completed, with increased production, by around 2050, the target is for LKAB to produce 24.4 million tonnes of sponge iron per year, with zero carbon dioxide emissions. By removing the oxygen from the iron ore by means of electrically produced hydrogen gas, instead of the steel mills using fossil carbon in blast furnaces, LKAB can enable reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of between 40 and 50 million tonnes per year at steelmaking customers. That corresponds to nearly all of Sweden's current annual greenhouse gas emissions. LKAB wants to help make sustainable products the norm LKAB welcomes the European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation for setting Ecodesign Requirements for Sustainable Products (ERSP), because in addition to producing virgin fossil-free sponge iron, LKAB will start to mine its mining waste, going circular: From 2027, LKAB could become a significant European recycler of critical minerals for agriculture and clean technologies. LKAB plans to extract apatite concentrate from the residual products of iron ore mining and to further process that to phosphorus mineral fertiliser, and in the process also extract rare earth elements, fluorine and gypsum. The total volume is significant. In terms of numbers, LKAB’s circular aspirations in Aitik, Luleå, Kiruna and Malmberget, Sweden will cover: • 5 times Sweden’s need for phosphorus mineral fertiliser • 30% of Europe’s need for rare earth elements, such as Praseodymium and Neodymium • Sweden’s entire need for gypsum The volumes are based on LKAB’s current production. However, through LKAB’s expansion plans, production can potentially replace all of the former Russian imports. Europe is currently significantly dependent on these industrial minerals and rare earth elements (REEs). For example, Europe is 90% dependent on imports of phosphorus, and Russia until early 2022 accounted for a significant share of phosphorus imports. This is creating a supply shortage as neighbouring third countries such as Morocco are limited in use through the high cadmium content of their phosphorus, political risks and other properties. If products that are produced with industrial minerals and REEs, such as batteries or permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines, would fall under the scope of the ERSP, then LKAB believes that extraction of the aforementioned residual products of iron ore mining, or mining waste in general, should also be covered under the definition of “recycled content” of Articles 1 and 5. If Europe wants to be strategically autonomous on critical raw materials and material sovereignty in order to make the green transition happen, then frontrunner circular projects in heavy industry such as those by LKAB and its partners need to be stimulated.
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Response to Revision of EU rules on Gas

12 Apr 2022

The current geopolitical situation makes it very clear that the world urgently needs to increase and accelerate renewable energy projects. Europe finds itself in an important position to ensure energy security without continuing the development of fossil-based energy sources. In addition, the worrying findings in the most recent IPCC report remind us that the world needs to raise climate ambitions. This watershed moment offers a great opportunity to accelerate the EU’s fossil-free projects and to strengthen the Fit-for-55 proposals. SSAB and LKAB are convinced that increasing Europe's availability of and accessibility to fossil-free energy sources is a necessity from both a decarbonisation and security of supply perspective. We therefore highly appreciate the Commission’s REPowerEU communication, which attributes great value to an accelerated implementation of renewable and other fossil-free hydrogen projects. As the Commission presented the Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Package prior to the recent geopolitical developments, we believe that the draft Gas Directive and the draft Gas Regulation should be strengthened in a way that prioritises fossil-free energy over fossil-based energy, resonating the proposals presented in REPowerEU. SSAB and LKAB are more committed than ever to contribute to the European Green Deal's vision and the REPowerEU proposal. Our goal is to be fossil-free by 2045 at the latest, but we are moving faster where we can. For example, SSAB has taken a policy decision to accelerate the green transition and to transform its operations in Lulea and Raahe with the ambition to largely eliminate carbon dioxide emissions around 2030, 15 years earlier than previously announced. Key policy asks: • In light of the current geopolitical situation and REPowerEU communication, a more ambitious definition of low-carbon hydrogen that only includes fossil-free energy sources is more urgent than ever. A more ambitious and dynamic definition of low-carbon hydrogen, for example -70% GHG reduction by 2025, -80% by 2030, -90% by 2035 and -100% by 2040, prevents the EU from locking itself in fossil-based hydrogen projects, and is more in line with the decarbonisation trajectory of industry under the EU ETS reform. It incentivises industry to decarbonize and enables the hydrogen market to accelerate in line with the REPowerEU objectives. • The more ambitious definition should be harmonised across all relevant EU policies, and be the basis for relevant EU funding programs for all energy carriers including hydrogen projects. • The proposed Delegated Act that specifies the methodology for assessing GHG emissions for the definition of low-carbon hydrogen should come faster than 31 December 2024 as proposed by the European Commission. Many hydrogen projects may come online in the next few years and need guidance as soon as possible. Please find more details and proposals for concrete amendments in the attached file.
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Meeting with Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President) and Vattenfall and

31 Mar 2022 · Signing ceremony for Innovation Fund contributions to decarbonisation projects

Response to Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

17 Nov 2021

Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) is an international high-tech mining and mineral group that mines and processes iron ore in Sweden for the global steel market. More than 80% of the iron ore produced in Europe comes from LKAB’s mines. We have reduced our carbon footprint by 84% since the 1960s and we will continue our environmental commitments by adopting a new holistic corporate strategy paving the way for zero CO2 emissions by 2045 at the latest in its processes and products. LKAB welcomes the Commission’s proposal to introduce a WTO-compliant CBAM, as it can help to accelerate the phase out of free allowances from the EU ETS. We would like to highlight the following important points, which are explained in the uploaded position paper: 1. CBAM must protect ambitious industries in Europe against the risk of carbon leakage. If the CBAM, through sufficient testing, can prove to be a highly effective measure to prevent carbon leakage, then it should become the alternative to the existing carbon leakage measures. 2. Avoiding carbon leakage while at the same time sending a strong and predictable CO2 price signal is necessary to support the development and deployment of break-through projects such as the HYBRIT project that develops the technology for a fossil-free iron and steel value chain. 3. The proposed rate of phasing out free allowances for CBAM sectors is however too slow: instead of 10% per year, which would mean free allowances for CBAM sectors are only phased out by 2035, this phase out rate should be doubled to 20% per year, so that free allowances for CBAM sectors are phased out by 2030 at the latest. 4. Remaining free allowances must be targeted only for exports in high-risk carbon leakage sectors.
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Swedish miner LKAB demands fairer EU ETS benchmark rules

8 Nov 2021
Topic — The European Commission is updating carbon market rules to reach climate neutrality.
Message — LKAB seeks technology-neutral benchmarks to ensure fair competition with polluting industries. They demand all free emission permits be phased out by 2030.123
Why — These reforms would remove the competitive disadvantage currently faced by LKAB’s sustainable products.4
Impact — Higher-polluting competitors would lose their generous allocation of free carbon permits.5
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Meeting with Pascal Canfin (Member of the European Parliament) and SSAB AB

3 Nov 2021 · Fit for 55

LKAB urges EU to include pellets in sintering benchmark

4 Jan 2021
Topic — Setting carbon emission benchmarks for free industrial allowances under the EU ETS.
Message — LKAB calls for including iron ore pellets in the sintered ore benchmark. They argue this change reflects the efficiency of sustainable frontrunners.12
Why — This would remove market distortions and support the viability of LKAB's breakthrough projects.3
Impact — Industry laggards would receive fewer free allowances if sintering benchmarks were significantly lowered.4
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Response to Climate change mitigation and adaptation taxonomy

18 Dec 2020

Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) is an international and high-tech mining and minerals group that mines and upgrades the unique iron ore of northern Sweden for the global steel market. Sustainability is core to our business and our strategy is to have CO2-free production latest 2045 by transforming the iron ore pellet production to production of sponge iron based on a direct reduction of iron ore with hydrogen produced from renewable energy. For more information see here: https://www.lkab.com/en/about-lkab/lkab-in-brief/strategy-and-goals/. To achieve these ambitions, LKAB relies on many different CO2 neutral sources of energy - and it therefore wants to emphasize that CO2 neutral sources of energy must be regarded as sustainable in the legislative framework of the European Commission’s draft delegated Regulation which establishes the technical screening criteria for determining the conditions - under which an economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation (hereafter: the delegated act). By classifying, for example electricity generation from hydropower only as sustainable (§4.5) if it complies with criteria that go much further than the criteria that the delegated act sets for the generation of electricity from other renewable energy sources - the Commission distorts the level playing field and competition with electricity generated from other renewable energy sources. It would also disqualify, in one strike, more than 40% of the Swedish energy production, that relies on since a very long time on hydropower - and it would discourage further investments in this abundant CO2 free source of renewable electricity. We believe that this is counterproductive for an energy transition based on electrification and fear that it would seriously jeopardize Sweden’s and Europe’s ability to reach their climate goals, as well as the many sustainable business cases build on those objectives, like ours. There is also a risk of effects that go far beyond the taxonomy itself, as the criteria in this draft delegated act and the assessment made therein, may be used as a basis for other directives, regulations or classifications. We would therefore respectfully ask to the Commission to bring the criteria for the sustainable generation of electricity from hydropower (§4.5 of the delegated act), in line with criteria set for the generation of electricity from solar and wind.
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Response to Sustainable Products Initiative

16 Nov 2020

The international high-tech mining and minerals group LKAB has the ambition to be one of the industry’s most innovative, resource-efficient and responsible companies and hopes that the SPI can help to make the performance of frontrunners in sustainability, progressively the norm – as the Circular Economy Action Plan has announced it should. Through continuous investment in sustainable innovation, LKAB has managed to reduce its carbon footprint since the 1960s by 84%, allowing it to be further advanced on sustainability. As you will see in the attached position paper, LKAB will continue to make significant efforts to stay one of the industry’s most innovative, resource-efficient and responsible companies. LKAB hope that this short paper helps the Commission to see that for sustainability to be a solid business case, transparency throughout the value chain, trust in norms/labels and an enabling policy framework are crucial. The SPI needs to raise the bar on all of those aspects.
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Meeting with Asa Webber (Cabinet of Commissioner Ylva Johansson), Brian Synnott (Cabinet of Commissioner Ylva Johansson)

5 May 2020 · Discussions on the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)