Electra raised $76.3 million to clean up the dirty iron industry, TechCrunch has learned.
The startup developed an innovative method using electricity to coax pure iron from low-grade ore, opening the door to pure steel. A new round of funding has been announced. Submission of regulations.It is seeking to raise a total of $256.7 million.
Today, iron ore production is very polluting. It is responsible for the majority of emissions for steel production, which itself generates 7% of global carbon emissions. Smelting ore in furnaces that burn fossil fuels—the process used primarily to make iron today—has remained largely unchanged for centuries.
As the industry seeks to clean up its act; It has already started looking for alternatives. ElectraElectrowinning is already used to produce other metals such as copper and nickel. Electrowinning uses an electric current to pull metal from a molten solution. The metal is placed on an electrode while the waste sinks to the bottom of the tank.
But adapting electricity to iron is challenging. This is usually because it requires high-grade ore and is too expensive to compete with blast furnaces.
Electra claims its acid-based process can handle low-grade ore. It is heated to about 60 degrees Celsius below the boiling point of water and then an electric current is passed through it. The resulting plates are ideal feed for electric-insulated stoves that can use renewable energy.
When combined, Electronic induction and electric furnaces have the potential to eliminate most of the carbon emissions of steelmaking.
Electra is Amazon; Breakthrough Energy Ventures; It last raised $85 million by 2022 from investors including BHP Ventures and Nucor.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.