Electra Funding Helps Decarbonize Steel, Iron Production
Summary
In order to produce iron through a process using electricity that emits no carbon emissions, Electra has raised $85 million in its aims to help decarbonize steel and other heavy industries.The company produces low-temperature iron from commercial and low-grade ores using zero-carbon intermittent electricity coming from renewable sources. Overall, the steel industry accounts for about 10% of the worlds emissions, creating 3.7 gigatons of direct and indirect carbon emissions each year, according to the company.Finding alternative ways to produce steel to make it less carbon-intensive is a challenge some in the industry are taking on. Additionally, the government is looking to increase the transparency of manufacturers and their supply chains in tracking and reporting emissions.Recently more than 200 companies in carbon-intensive industries, including many steelmakers, endorsed strategies from the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) to work toward decarbonization. The potential to use iron ore inputs with high impurity levels including phosphorous, silica, and alumina without any beneficiation, reduces the overall cost of steelmaking, reduces the upstream carbon and ESG footprint, and creates new sources of economic value for the iron ore producers. "Electra is using electrochemical and hydrometallurgical methods, which can provide a sustainable way for minerals recovery, to reach industrial scale for green iron production.