Stephen Industries invest in Anferra – a company that develops a technology for transforming hazardous steel grinding sludge into circular resources
Anferra has secured a strategic investment from SKF, Chalmers Ventures and Stephen Industries to accelerate the development and industrial implementation of its technology for transforming steel grinding sludge into valuable resources.
Anferra is developing a technology to increase circularity across industries by turning waste streams that are difficult to recycle into new resource flows. Their process focuses on steel grinding sludge – a hazardous industrial waste generated during metal grinding operations. Today, much of this material is landfilled or incinerated, despite containing valuable metals.
Through their process, steel grinding sludge can be converted into ferric chloride for water and wastewater treatment, while also producing hydrogen gas that can be used as an energy carrier. In this way, a costly and hazardous waste stream can become a source of valuable materials for clean water, green energy and more circular industrial systems.
Globally, around 12 million tonnes of grinding sludge are produced every year, creating environmental challenges, regulatory complexity and high costs for industry. Anferra’s technology offers a new pathway for recovering these resources instead of losing them through disposal.
The process can recover up to 90 percent of the iron in the sludge and enables a potential net climate benefit of up to 470 kg CO₂ equivalents per tonne of sludge compared with conventional disposal. Beyond the climate benefit, the technology has the potential to support a shift in how grinding sludge is viewed — from hazardous waste towards a secondary raw material.
“We are very happy to deepen our collaboration with SKF and to welcome the continued support from Chalmers Ventures and Stephen Industries. Their combined expertise gives us a strong foundation to move from validated technology toward industrial implementation. Our ambition is to significantly reduce the landfilling of grinding sludge while increasing circularity and resource efficiency on a global scale,” says Ebba Adolfsson, CEO and Co-founder of Anferra.
The investment brings together complementary expertise across industry, research-based venture building and deep tech scaling. SKF contributes industrial application knowledge, waste stream volume and experience in sustainability and circularity. Chalmers Ventures brings venture building capabilities and a close connection to the Chalmers research ecosystem. Stephen Industries adds experience in supporting and scaling high-impact deep tech and greentech companies.
For Anferra, this investment marks an important step in scaling a solution that connects industrial waste management with the growing need for sustainable raw material alternatives. By enabling circular flows between the steel, chemical and water treatment sectors, Anferra aims to help industries reduce landfill, lower emissions and create new value from materials that are currently treated as waste.
About Anferra
Anferra is a Swedish deep tech startup developing technology to recycle hazardous steel grinding sludge into valuable resources, including ferric chloride for water treatment and hydrogen gas as an energy carrier. Originating from research at Chalmers University of Technology, Anferra works to increase circularity across industries by turning waste into value.
About SKF
SKF is a global industrial company that develops bearings, seals, lubrication systems, condition monitoring solutions and related services. Founded in 1907, SKF works to reduce friction and improve the performance, efficiency and sustainability of rotating equipment across industries worldwide.
About Chalmers Ventures
Chalmers Ventures is a leading deep tech investor and venture builder in the Nordics, rooted in the Chalmers entrepreneurial ecosystem. By combining venture creation and investments, Chalmers Ventures supports research-based and impact-driven technology companies on their journey from lab to market.
