Electra has raised $85 million to produce Low-Temperature Iron (LTI) from commercial and low-grade ores using zero-carbon intermittent electricity. Electra’s process emits zero carbon dioxide emissions and carries zero green premium, meaning it will cost the same or less than existing production methods powered by fossil fuels.

Electra, founded by entrepreneurs with decades of experience developing complex electrochemical systems, has created a novel process to refine iron ore into pure iron electrochemically at 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) using renewable electricity and then convert the iron to steel using the existing infrastructure of electricity-powered arc furnaces.

By comparison, 69% of steel today is made at approximately 1,600 degrees Celsius (2,912 degrees Fahrenheit) using coal, emitting about two tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of steel produced.

Electra developed a method of dissolving iron ore and removing impurities while retaining iron in aqueous solution, thereby unlocking the opportunity to use low-grade ores in its process.

Electra’s Oxygen-Decoupled Electrolysis (ODE) process overcomes two interconnected challenges for the steel industry:

• Decarbonizing Steelmaking: The steel industry produces 1.9 billion metric tons of crude steel and causes 3.7 gigatons of direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions annually, or 10% of the global total. If the steel industry were a country, its carbon emissions would rank third in the world behind China and the United States. Conversion of iron ore into iron accounts for 90% of steelmaking emissions that may be eliminated using Electra’s process.

• The “Iron Ore Challenge”: Commercial iron ores with iron content of 62% or higher are projected to be in short supply by the early 2030s. Hydrogen or natural gas-based steelmaking requires ores with the highest iron content at 67% or above, making the cost and ore supply challenge even more acute for these processes. Electra's process intakes lower-grade ores with iron content as low as 35% without the additional cost of grinding, beneficiation, and pelletization, enabling zero green premium and a more diverse iron ore supply chain.

Electra’s iron is the fulcrum to decarbonize steelmaking and to de-risk the iron ore challenge. 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 1,600 to 60 degrees Celsius, 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 CEO Sandeep Nijhawan

Electra says that it leverages proven electrochemical and hydrometallurgical methods to reach industrial scale with low technical and scaling risks. Electra will complete the build-out of a green-iron refining pilot plant in 2023 at its headquarters in Boulder, CO, and plans to have a commercial-scale demonstration plant qualified by the second half of this decade.

The 50-person company recently opened a new office in Boston, MA to help expand its roster of engineers, scientists, and professional support staff.

The company is backed by Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon, BHP Ventures, Temasek, S2G Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, Lowercarbon Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Baruch Future Ventures and others.

Electra plans to forge additional partnerships across the entire steel value chain. Iron ore companies, steel companies, and any company that relies on steel are invited to collaborate with Electra to accelerate the transition to green steel.