Green steelmaking innovator Electra has scooped up $85 million backing from a raft of top investors including the Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon and BHP Ventures, to support the firm's plans to further develop and scale its zero emissions technology.
The U.S. firm claims its novel iron ore and steelmaking process emits zero CO2 emissions while also holding potential to cost the same or even less than existing methods powered by fossil fuels.
It claims it can electrochemically refine ore into pure iron at low temperatures of just 140 degrees Fahrenheit, enabling it to use renewable electricity to power the process, before then converting the iron into steel using existing infrastructure or electrically powered arc furnaces.
In comparison, almost 70 percent of the world's steel today is made at about 2,912F using fossil fuels such as coal, which emits around two metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for every metric ton of steel produced, according to Electra.
The company therefore believes its "Oxygen-Decoupled Electrolysis (ODE)" process overcomes key challenges for decarbonizing the steelmaking and iron ore refining processes, both of which are major global greenhouse gas emitters.
The company believes its 'Oxygen-Decoupled Electrolysis (ODE)' process overcomes key challenges for decarbonizing the steelmaking and iron ore refining processes.
Moreover, it claims its technology offers greater benefits compared to other burgeoning green steel solutions, such as hydrogen-powered furnaces, as it is capable of using lower-grade ores containing just 35 percent iron content and reduces some costs of processing the material.
Overall, Electra estimates that its process holds the potential to eliminate iron ore conversion emissions, which it said accounts for up to 90 percent of steelmaking emissions.
"Electra's iron is the fulcrum to decarbonize steelmaking and to de-risk the iron ore challenge," said Electra CEO Sandeep Nijhawan. "Our team, starting with a clean sheet, developed an electrochemical process to refine iron ore to high purity iron by radically lowering the process temperature from [2,912 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit], replacing coal energy with intermittent renewable energy, and displacing commercial ores with lower-grade ores that are not being used or are currently treated as waste today. We also have a historic opportunity to decentralize the global iron and steel supply chain and re-shore manufacturing and mining jobs."
Electra is planning to complete the build of its first iron ore refining pilot plant at its headquarters in Colorado next year, as it pushes forward with its broader aim to have its first commercial-scale plant up and running before the end of the decade. The firm said it is also aiming to forge additional partnerships across the entire steel value chain in order to accelerate the transition to green steel.
The firm is also aiming to forge additional partnerships across the entire steel value chain in order to accelerate the transition to green steel.
Carmichael Roberts, business lead on the investment committee at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, said decarbonizing ironmaking was "essential for a zero carbon future and an unparalleled trillion-dollar market opportunity."
"Electrifying cost-effective ironmaking without carbon emissions is a paradigm shift in how steel has been made for centuries by burning fossil fuels," he said. "We're proud to have supported Electra in this critical mission from its founding."
Other investors backing the company in its latest investment round include Temasek, S2G Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, Lowercarbon Capital, Valor Equity Partners and Baruch Future Ventures.
Worldwide steelmaking is estimated to account for 8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and is seen as a critical sector to decarbonize in order to hit global climate goals, given the material is critical for a raft of clean technologies including electric vehicles and wind turbines.
"Steel is required to make everything from automobiles to buildings, and is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize," said Matt Peterson, director of the Climate Pledge Fund at Amazon. "Amazon is proud to invest in Electra's green iron technology, which is an important step toward making steel more sustainable, and toward Amazon's broader goal to reach net zero carbon by 2040."
