TechCrunch reports that Electra has secured $76.3 million in funding to revamp its struggling ironmaking operations.
A breakthrough startup has pioneered an innovative method harnessing electrical energy to extract high-quality iron from previously unusable low-grade ores, paving the way for more sustainable metal production. The brand-new funding round, publicly disclosed in a recent announcement, aims to raise a total of $256.7 million.
The iron manufacturing process, currently plagued by significant environmental concerns, emits considerable amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere. Responsible for the vast majority of emissions in steel production, a process that accounts for approximately 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Although the fundamental process of producing iron remains steadfastly rooted in history, the primary method still employed today – namely, smelting ore within fiery hot blast furnaces fuelled by combusting fossil fuels – has persisted with remarkable consistency over centuries.
Because the business has sought to improve its image, it has begun exploring its options. The process commonly referred to as electrowinning has already been employed to produce various metals, including copper and nickel. Electrowinning employs an electric current to extract a metal from a solution. Metallic particles are coated onto an electrode as they settle, while impurities sink to the bottom of the tank.
Despite efforts to adapt electrowinning for iron production, challenges remain, primarily due to the requirement for high-grade ores, which renders the final product uncompetitive with traditional blast furnaces.
Electra asserts that its acid-based processing method effectively handles lower-grade mineral deposits. While it reaches temperatures around 60°C, well below the boiling point of water, it then dispatches a gift. These plates serve as ideal feedstock for electric-arc furnaces that can also operate on renewable energy.
When combined, electrowinning and electric-arc furnaces hold tremendous potential to virtually eliminate steelmaking’s carbon footprint.
Electra final secured an impressive $85 million in funding in 2022, attracting notable investors such as Amazon, Breakthrough Vitality Ventures, BHP Ventures, and Nucor.
The corporation failed to provide an immediate response when asked for comment.
