Microsoft-Backed Boston Metal Receives $120 Million to Manufacture Green Steel

Steel is an important component in infrastructure building but at the same time, it is also one of the dirtiest heavy sectors in the world.

According to the International Energy Agency, the production of steel is the industry that emits the most carbon dioxide, accounting for around 8% of global emissions. Hence, many businesses are developing alternatives to reduce these emissions.

Now, Massachusetts-based company Boston Metal may significantly contribute to this endeavor after receiving $120 million in funding from ArcelorMittal, the second largest steelmaker in the world, to produce "green steel," reported by AP.

Boost from the Carbon Innovation Fund

With the new funding, Boston Metal will help Brazil's commercial manufacturing get off the ground and increase output at a prototype plant in Woburn, close to Boston. The business transforms iron ore into steel using renewable energy.

ArcelorMittal investment is the company's carbon innovation fund's largest single investment to date. Microsoft has also seen merit in the endeavor and is one of Boston Metal's investors.

Boston Metal's CEO, Tadeu Carneiro, claimed that the company's technology would revolutionize the steel industry by decarbonizing steel manufacturing on a large scale.

The firm developed its technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The founders are professors Donald Sadoway and Antoine Allanore, who are specialists in metallurgy and energy storage.

Their method separates the iron from the oxide by passing electricity through iron ore in a metal container instead of burning coal. The liquid iron is subsequently removed by operators from the bottom, according to Carneiro.

Boston Metal claims that it can completely eliminate carbon dioxide from the steel it produces and plans to increase output to millions of tons by 2026. In addition, it said, it can extract metals from slag, which is typically regarded as waste.

Transition to Cleaner Steel

It is important to note that the transition to cleaner, less climate-impacting processes in the steel industry is just getting started.

AP reports that several European steel manufacturers have declared alternatives to the conventional coal-fired steelmaking process, with automakers resorting to cleaner steel.

AP notes that the bulk of new steel produced in the United States is already cleaner since it is made by melting down old steel, including that from scrapped cars. This process can be carried out in electric kilns and produces a little number of greenhouse emissions compared to the manufacturing of virgin steel.

However, Carneiro said that large-scale production of steel will still be years in the making since it takes time for the industry to transition from traditional methods.