100 years of joint research

A strong research network

The Swedish steel industry is a world leader in a number of specialised niches. One important explanation is the long-term investment in products and services with a high knowledge content.

More than SEK 1 billion is invested in steel research in Sweden every year. Much of this research is carried out within the individual steel companies. The joint research conducted within Jernkontoret’s technical areas accounts for approximately 10–15 per cent of the total research activity.

The joint research is part of an extensive network in which almost all steelworks in Sweden, Finland and Norway participate. Important suppliers and customers are also involved. The network comprises around 600 active participants and helps ensure that research results can be rapidly translated into practical applications.

Jernkontoret’s technical areas

Research is conducted within 14 technical areas and covers both materials and process technology – from raw materials to steel products and by-products. The projects are primarily driven by the needs of the industry and are intended to ensure that the results can be applied within the companies, but basic research is also conducted. The research is carried out at participating companies, research institutes and universities.

Read more about Jernkontoret’s technical areas (jernkontoret.se).

100 years of joint research

Jernkontoret has conducted technical research for a very long time, and technical cooperation within the iron and steel industry was initiated as early as 1751. However, it was not until the 1920s that the joint research organisation as we know it today began to take shape.

In 1925, Alf Grabe, editor of Jernkontoret’s Annaler, visited Jernkontoret’s German counterpart, Verein Deutscher Eisenhüttenleute, in Germany. Following his visit, he proposed in a letter to Jernkontoret’s Board of Representatives that Jernkontoret establish a similar research organisation in Sweden.

Read more about Verein Deutscher Eisenhüttenleute (vdeh.de)

Grabe proposed that the technical research should be divided into four committees:

• Mining and ore beneficiation
• Pig iron production, including sintering and briquetting
• Steelmaking
• Rolling, forging and heat treatment

In May 1926, Jernkontoret’s Board of Representatives decided that the joint research should be organised in accordance with Alf Grabe’s proposal. The aim was to establish stronger cooperation in which both the owners and employees of the ironworks could become more actively involved in the joint research.

In 2026, Jernkontoret is commemorating 100 years of joint research. Since 1926, steel companies, researchers and experts have worked together to develop new knowledge, address common challenges and strengthen the competitiveness of the Swedish iron and steel industry.

Collaboration that delivers results

Since 1969, the joint research has encompassed the Nordic countries. One successful example of Nordic cooperation is the handbook Corrosion Tables for Stainless Steels, which was published in Swedish, English and Finnish in 1977. All of these editions are now sold out, but a new English edition has been published jointly by Sandvik Steel and Avesta Sheffield, now Alleima and Outokumpu Stainless: Corrosion Tables. Stainless Steels.

Read more at Alleima: Corrosion Tables (alleima.com)

Read more at Outokumpu Stainless: Corrosion Tables and Charts (outokumpu.com)

Over the 100 years that this research collaboration has existed, steel production in Sweden has become more efficient and quality has improved. Energy consumption has decreased, while electric steel and stainless steel have gained widespread adoption.

Another example is the development of standard scales for comparative testing. As early as 1935, Jernkontoret’s Inclusion Chart was published and subsequently became both a Swedish standard and an ISO standard.

Financing of the joint research

The companies participating in the research contribute financially through both direct funding and in-kind contributions, in the form of their own industrial trials and staff time. Industrial trials are a very important part of the research collaboration between companies, research institutes, universities and other higher education institutions, as they provide opportunities to conduct trials at full industrial scale and incorporate real-world boundary conditions into the analyses.

Public funding is provided through long-term programme agreements, primarily with Swedish government funding agencies.

Research and innovation programmes

On behalf of government funding agencies, Jernkontoret also coordinates extensive research and innovation programmes.

Swedish Metals & Minerals

The innovation programme Swedish Metals & Minerals is currently underway as part of Impact Innovation – Sweden’s strategic innovation initiative for the 2030s.

Read more about Swedish Metals & Minerals (jernkontoret.se)

Previous research programmes

The strategic innovation programme Metalliska Material ran from 2013 to 2025. The strategic innovation programmes are an initiative operated by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas. The initiative aims to increase innovation capacity in sectors that are important to Sweden and have the potential to become even more important by stimulating cooperation between industry, the public sector and academia. In 2026, the twelve-year report from Metalliska Material was published (in Swedish): Tolv år med Metalliska material. Ett strategiskt innovationsprogram (jernkontoret.se).

The research programme JoSEn, Järn- och stålindustrins energianvändning – forskning och utveckling (Energy Use in the Iron and Steel Industry – Research and Development), was a collaborative programme between Jernkontoret and the Swedish Energy Agency that ran from 2013 to 2018. In 2019, a summary of the results was published (in Swedish): Järn- och stålindustrins energianvändning – forskning och utveckling. Slutrapport D 880. (jernkontoret.se)

Stålkretsloppet (Steel Eco-Cycle) was an environmental research programme carried out in two phases between 2004 and 2012. The research results show that steel plays an important role in sustainable societal development. The compiled results from Steel Eco-Cycle are available for download or can be ordered as printed copies: www.jernkontoret.se/stalkretsloppet