Jernkontoret celebrates 100 years of joint research
The year 2026 marks a centenary of Jernkontoret’s industry research. For one hundred years companies, researchers and experts have been collaborating to expand the frontiers of knowledge and to sharpen the edge of the iron and steel industry in world markets. The centenary has been celebrated in a variety of ways during the year.
Jernkontoret’s joint research on behalf of the steel industry celebrates its 100-year milestone in 2026.
A strong research network
Sweden’s steel industry is a world leader in a number of specialised niches. An important reason for this is the long-term investment in products and services with a high knowledge content.
In Sweden more than a billion kronor (roughly USD 100 million) is invested in steel research each year. The major part of this research is carried out within the different steel companies. The joint industry research within Jernkontoret’s technical areas accounts for about 10–15 per cent of the total research activities.
The joint research is an extensive network where nearly all steel plants in Sweden, Finland and Norway participate. Moreover, important suppliers and customers also contribute. This network consists of about 600 active persons who contribute to a swift conversion into practical application of these research results.
Jernkontoret’s technical areas
The research work is carried out within 14 technical areas and covers both materials and process engineering – from the raw material to steel products and even by-products. The needs of the steel industry is the project’s main point of departure and the goal is to enable the research work results to be used in the companies. In parallel to this, basic research too is undertaken. The research is carried out at the participating companies, in research institutes and at higher education centres across Sweden.
Read more about Jernkontoret’s technical areas (jernkontoret.se)
100 years of joint industry research
Jernkontoret has carried out technical research over a very long period. Technical collaboration within the iron and steel industry was initiated as far back as 1751. It was, however, only during the 1920’s that today’s joint research took shape.
In 1925 Alf Grabe, editor of Jernkontorets Annaler, visited Jernkontoret’s German equivalent Verein Deutscher Eisenhütteleute (Association of German Ironworks Engineers) in Germany. Following the visit, he proposed in a letter to Jernkontoret’s governing board or council that Jernkontoret should build up a similar research organisation in Sweden.
Read more about Verein Deutscher Eisenhütteleute (vdeh.de)
Grabe proposed that the technical research should be divided into four branches or committees:
- Mining and mineral enrichment
- Pig iron production including sintering and briquetting
- Steel production
- Rolling, forging and heat treatment
Jernkontoret’s Council decided, in May 1926, that the joint research would be organised in accordance with Alf Grabe’s proposal. The purpose was to create a stronger framework of collaboration where both the steel mill owners and the employees could be engaged in the joint industry research.
In 2026 Jernkontoret is marking this centenary of joint research. The steel companies, researchers and experts have been working together, since 1926, to expand the frontiers of knowledge, find solutions to shared challenges and sharpen the competitiveness of Sweden’s iron and steel industry.
During this centenary year, we are casting a spotlight on examples from the history of this research: from materials and processes developed during the past hundred years to research in special areas that remains vital to the steel industry of today and tomorrow.
Working together brings results
Since 1969 the scope of this joint research has extended to the entire Nordic region. A successful example from this Nordic co-operation is the handbook “Corrosion tables for stainless steel” published in Swedish, Finnish and English in 1977. All its editions have been sold out but a new edition has been issued in English jointly by Sandvik Steel and Avesta Sheffield, now Alleima and Outokumpu Stainless: Corrosion Tables. Stainless Steels.
During the hundred years that this research co-operation has been active, Sweden’s own production has become more efficient and the quality has been improved. Energy consumption has been cut at the same time as electrical and stainless steels have achieved a breakthrough.
A further example of this industry collaboration is the development of standard scales for comparative testing. The year 1935 saw the publication of Jernkontoret’s slag scale, which later became the guide for both the Swedish and ISO standard.
Funding of the joint research
The companies participating in the research contribute economically with both financial and in-kind inputs. Such inputs take the form of the company’s own industrial trials and working time invested.
The industrial experiments and trials represent a very important part of the research collaboration between companies, research institutes and higher education institutions. This stems from the opportunities they offer for carrying out full-scale operational trials, thereby introducing real-world boundary conditions to the analyses.
Public funding takes place through Long-term Program Agreements, primarily with Swedish funding agencies.
Research and innovation programs
On behalf of government agencies, Jernkontoret also co-ordinates extensive research and innovation programs.
Swedish Metals & Minerals
Today the innovation program Swedish Metals & Minerals is active, one component of Impact Innovation – the strategic innovation investment to make Sweden fit for the 2030’s and beyond. Read more about Swedish Metals & Minerals (jernkontoret.se)
Earlier research programs
Metallic Materials, the strategic innovation program, ran during the period 2013–2025. The strategic innovation programs are an initiative run by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas.
The investment is intended to increase the level of innovation within those industrial sectors of central importance for Sweden which have the potential to become even more important. This is to be achieved through stimulating collaboration between industry, the public sector and the university and research sector. 2026 saw the publication of the Metallic Materials twelve-year report: Tolv år med Metalliska material. Ett strategiskt innovationsprogram (jernkontoret.se).
The research program JoSEn (Iron and Steel industry’s energy consumption – research and development) was a collaboration program between Jernkontoret and the Swedish Energy Agency that ran from 2013 to 2018. The publication of a summary of results took place in 2019: Järn- och stålindustrins energianvändning – forskning och utveckling. Slutrapport D 880. (jernkontoret.se)
The Steel Eco-Cycle is an environmental research program carried out in two stages during the period 2004–2012. The research results show that steel has an essential role to play in building resilient and sustainable societies. The compiled results from the Steel Eco-Cycle can either be downloaded or ordered as printed copies: www.jernkontoret.se/stalkretsloppet
